Bill Text: NY A01543 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Assembly Bill 1543

Introduced

Bill Title: Requires absentee ballots to be provided to all qualified voters; relates to the delivery of absentee ballots.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-10 - referred to education [A01543 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A01543-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1543

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 10, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ROSENTHAL  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Education

        AN ACT to amend the election law,  in  relation  to  providing  absentee
          ballots  to  all  qualified  voters; and to repeal certain sections of
          such law relating thereto

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Sections 8-400 and 8-402 of the election law are REPEALED
     2  and a new section 8-400 is added to read as follows:
     3    § 8-400. Absentee voting. Notwithstanding any provision of law to  the
     4  contrary,  a  qualified  voter  may vote as an absentee voter under this
     5  chapter.
     6    § 2.  Section 8-406 of the election law, as amended by  section  2  of
     7  part  HH  of  chapter  55  of  the  laws  of 2022, is amended to read as
     8  follows:
     9    § 8-406. Absentee ballots[,]; delivery of.   [1. If  the  board  shall
    10  find  that  the  applicant is a qualified voter of the election district
    11  containing his residence as stated in his statement and that his  state-
    12  ment is sufficient, it shall, as soon as practicable after it shall have
    13  determined  his  right  thereto, mail to him at an address designated by
    14  him, or deliver to him, or to any person designated for such purpose  in
    15  writing  by  him,  at  the office of the board, such an absentee voter's
    16  ballot or set of ballots and an envelope  therefor.  If  the  ballot  or
    17  ballots  are  to be sent outside of the United States to a country other
    18  than Canada or Mexico, such ballot or ballots shall be sent by air mail.
    19  However, if an applicant who is eligible for an  absentee  ballot  is  a
    20  resident  of  a facility operated or licensed by, or under the jurisdic-
    21  tion of, the department of mental hygiene, or a resident of  a  facility
    22  defined  as  a nursing home or residential health care facility pursuant
    23  to subdivisions two and three of section two thousand eight hundred  one
    24  of  the public health law, or a resident of a hospital or other facility

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02151-01-5

        A. 1543                             2

     1  operated by the Veteran's Administration  of  the  United  States,  such
     2  absentee ballot need not be so mailed or delivered to any such applicant
     3  but,  may  be delivered to the voter in the manner prescribed by section
     4  8-407  of this chapter if such facility is located in the county or city
     5  in which such voter is eligible to vote.
     6    2. When mailing an absentee ballot to a voter the board  of  elections
     7  shall provide a domestic postage paid return envelope. When providing an
     8  absentee ballot to a voter in-person, the board of elections shall offer
     9  the  voter  a  domestic  postage paid return envelope and provide one if
    10  requested.] 1. The board of elections for all counties or  cities  shall
    11  mail  an  absentee  ballot  and  a return postage guaranteed envelope to
    12  every registered and qualified voter residing in such  county  or  city.
    13  Such  absentee  ballot shall be mailed to every registered and qualified
    14  voter at the address given on such voter's registration records,  or  at
    15  an address specified by such voter pursuant to subdivision three of this
    16  section,  no  later than thirty days before the scheduled election is to
    17  be held.
    18    2. In the case of a primary election, the  board  of  elections  shall
    19  deliver  only  the ballot of the party in which the records of the board
    20  of elections show the absentee voter to be  enrolled.  In  the  event  a
    21  primary  election  is  uncontested  in  the  absentee  voter's  election
    22  district for all offices or  positions  except  the  party  position  of
    23  member  of  the ward, town, city or county committee, no ballot shall be
    24  delivered to such absentee voter for such  election;  and  the  absentee
    25  voter  shall  be  advised  why  such  absentee voter is not being sent a
    26  ballot.
    27    3. Any voter, upon application, may request that their absentee ballot
    28  be mailed to them at an address other than their permanent  address,  if
    29  such voter expects to be absent from the county or city of residence and
    30  unable to obtain their absentee ballot.
    31    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.