Bill Text: NY A05385 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Allows for application to be made for absentee ballots by electronic means, including, but not limited to telefacsimile or electronic mail.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 11-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-06-05 - held for consideration in election law [A05385 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A05385-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5385
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   February 17, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. BARCLAY, OAKS, FINCH, KOLB -- Multi-Sponsored by
         -- M. of A. CROUCH, REILICH, THIELE -- read once and referred  to  the
         Committee on Election Law
       AN  ACT  to  amend the election law, in relation to allowing application
         for absentee ballots by electronic means
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Paragraphs  (a),  (c) and (d) of subdivision 2 of section
    2  8-400 of the election law, paragraph (a) as amended by  chapter  263  of
    3  the laws of 1991, paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 321 of the laws of
    4  1988  and  paragraph (d) as separately amended by chapters 97 and 104 of
    5  the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows:
    6    (a) Application forms shall be furnished by and may be  obtained  from
    7  any  board  of elections at any time until the day before such election.
    8  FOR ANY ELECTIONS AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE,  APPLICATION
    9  FORMS  SHALL  BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR QUALIFIED VOTERS BY ELECTRONIC MEANS
   10  WHICH SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO,  TELEFACSIMILE  TRANSMISSION
   11  OR  ELECTRONIC  MAIL.  Application  forms  shall also be supplied by the
   12  board of inspectors of the election district in  which  applicant  is  a
   13  qualified  voter  on all of the days provided for local registration. In
   14  addition, application forms shall be supplied upon the  request  of  the
   15  person  authorized  to  vote pursuant to this section, any such person's
   16  spouse, parent or child, a person  residing  with  the  applicant  as  a
   17  member  of  his  household,  or  the  applicant's duly authorized agent.
   18  Application forms sent outside of the United States to a  country  other
   19  than Canada or Mexico, shall be sent airmail. Any reference to "board of
   20  elections"  in  the  remaining  provisions  of this section, except with
   21  respect to the furnishing and obtaining  of  applications  for  absentee
   22  ballots,  means  only  the  board  of elections of the county or city in
   23  which the applicant is a qualified voter.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD09049-01-1
       A. 5385                             2
    1    (c) All applications must be mailed OR TRANSMITTED BY ELECTRONIC MEANS
    2  to the board of elections not later than  the  seventh  day  before  the
    3  election  for  which  a  ballot  is first requested or delivered to such
    4  board not later than the day before such election.
    5    (d)  The  board  of  elections  shall mail an absentee ballot to every
    6  qualified voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests  such
    7  an  absentee ballot from such board of elections in writing in a letter,
    8  OR BY ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION, telefax  indicating  the  address,  phone
    9  number  and  the  telefax number from which the writing is sent or other
   10  written instrument, which is signed by the voter  and  received  by  the
   11  board of elections not earlier than the thirtieth day nor later than the
   12  seventh  day before the election for which the ballot is first requested
   13  and which states the address where  the  voter  is  registered  and  the
   14  address  to which the ballot is to be mailed; provided, however, a mili-
   15  tary voter may request a military ballot or voter registration  applica-
   16  tion or an absentee ballot application in a letter as provided in subdi-
   17  vision  three of section 10-106 of this chapter; and provided further, a
   18  special federal voter may request a  special  federal  ballot  or  voter
   19  registration  application  or an absentee ballot application in a letter
   20  as provided in paragraph d of subdivision one of section 11-202 of  this
   21  chapter. The board of elections shall enclose with such ballot a form of
   22  application for absentee ballot if the applicant is registered with such
   23  board of elections.
   24    S  2.  Subdivision 10 of section 8-400 of the election law, as amended
   25  by chapter 373 of the laws of 1986 and as renumbered by  chapter  40  of
   26  the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   27    10.  The  state board of elections shall prescribe a standard applica-
   28  tion form for use under this section. The use of  any  application  form
   29  which  substantially  complies with the provisions of this section shall
   30  be acceptable and any application filed on such a form shall be accepted
   31  for filing.  THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL ALSO PRESCRIBE A  STAND-
   32  ARD  APPLICATION  FORM  FOR  WHICH APPLICATION MAY BE MADE BY ELECTRONIC
   33  TRANSMISSION INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, TELEFACSIMILE OR  ELECTRONIC
   34  MAIL.
   35    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.