Bill Text: NY A10372 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes who qualifies as an authorized agent of a voter; prohibits an agent of the voter or authorized agent from receiving no more than five absentee ballots for an election; establishes penalties for failing to deliver a ballot and interfering with a voter's marking of a ballot.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-21 - referred to election law [A10372 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A10372-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10372

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 21, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Simon) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to authorized agents of  a
          voter

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

     1    Section 1. The opening paragraph and paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of
     2  section 8-400 of the election law, the opening paragraph as  amended  by
     3  chapter  746 of the laws of 2021 and paragraph (c) as amended by chapter
     4  481 of the laws of 2023, are amended to read as follows:
     5    A qualified voter desiring to vote at such  election  as  an  absentee
     6  voter  for  any  reason  specified  in  subdivision one hereof must make
     7  application for an absentee ballot on a form to be obtained and filed as
     8  provided herein, by letter as provided in paragraph (d) of this subdivi-
     9  sion, or through the electronic absentee ballot application  transmittal
    10  system  pursuant  to  section  8-408 of this title.  For the purposes of
    11  this subdivision an "agent of the voter"  or  "authorized  agent"  shall
    12  mean  a  person  who  is  a close family member of such voter, such as a
    13  spouse, parent, child or sibling; member of such voter's  household;  or
    14  holding a power of attorney executed by such qualified voter.
    15    (c)  All applications requesting an absentee ballot by mail or through
    16  the electronic absentee ballot application transmittal  system  must  be
    17  received  by  the board of elections not later than the tenth day before
    18  the election for which a ballot is first requested. Applications for  an
    19  absentee  ballot  that  will  be  delivered  in  person  at the board of
    20  elections to the voter or to an agent of the voter must be  received  by
    21  such  board not later than the day before such election. An agent of the
    22  voter or authorized agent shall be limited to  receiving  no  more  than
    23  five absentee ballots for such election.
    24    §  2.  The  opening  paragraph  of  paragraph  (a) of subdivision 2 of
    25  section 8-408 of the election law, as amended by chapter 746 of the laws
    26  of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
    27    A voter, agent of the voter or authorized agent as defined in subdivi-
    28  sion two of section 8-400 of this title, shall be able to apply  for  an

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15562-02-4
        A. 10372                            2

     1  absentee  ballot  using a personal online voter registration application
     2  submitted through the electronic absentee ballot application transmittal
     3  system when the voter, subject to the provisions set forth in  paragraph
     4  (c) of subdivision two of section 8-400 of this title:
     5    §  3.  Subdivisions  6 and 9 of section 17-132 of the election law are
     6  amended to read as follows:
     7    6. Being an applicant for an absentee voter's ballot, makes a material
     8  false statement in [his] such person's  application,  or  a  person  who
     9  makes  a material false statement in a medical certificate or an affida-
    10  vit filed in connection with an  application  for  an  absentee  voter's
    11  ballot,  or an agent of a voter or authorized agent as defined in subdi-
    12  vision two of section 8-400 of this  chapter  who  fails  to  deliver  a
    13  ballot that was picked up for a voter or interferes in any manner with a
    14  voter's marking of a ballot; or,
    15    9. Falsely pretends or represents to the inspectors of election or any
    16  of them that [he] such voter is incapacitated to mark [his] such voter's
    17  ballot,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining assistance in voting under the
    18  provisions of this chapter, is guilty of a felony.
    19    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.