Bill Text: NY S01344 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the board of elections to provide a registered voter with a sample ballot not less than ten days nor more than twenty days before an election via mail.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-06 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S01344 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-S01344-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
1344
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
January 12, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. PERALTA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to requiring the board of
elections to provide a registered voter with a sample ballot prior to
an election
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Section 4-117 of the election law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
3 1-A. THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS, NOT LESS THAN TEN DAYS NOR MORE THAN
4 TWENTY DAYS BEFORE THE DAY OF THE GENERAL ELECTION IN EACH YEAR, SHALL
5 SEND BY FIRST CLASS MAIL ON WHICH IS ENDORSED "ADDRESS CORRECTION
6 REQUESTED" AND WHICH CONTAINS A REQUEST THAT ANY SUCH MAIL RECEIVED FOR
7 PERSONS NOT RESIDING AT THE ADDRESS BE DROPPED BACK IN THE MAIL, A
8 SAMPLE BALLOT, AS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO SECTION 7-118 OF THIS CHAPTER, IN
9 A FORM APPROVED BY THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS, TO EVERY REGISTERED
10 VOTER WHO HAS BEEN REGISTERED WITHOUT A CHANGE OF ADDRESS SINCE THE
11 BEGINNING OF SUCH YEAR. THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO
12 SEND SUCH SAMPLE BALLOT TO VOTERS IN INACTIVE STATUS. IN LIEU OF SEND-
13 ING SUCH COMMUNICATION WITH SUCH SAMPLE BALLOT TO EVERY REGISTERED
14 VOTER, THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS MAY SEND A SINGLE COMMUNICATION TO A
15 HOUSEHOLD CONTAINING MORE THAN ONE REGISTERED VOTER, PROVIDED THAT THE
16 NAMES OF ALL SUCH VOTERS APPEAR AS PART OF THE ADDRESS ON SUCH COMMUNI-
17 CATION.
18 S 2. Section 7-118 of the election law, as amended by chapter 157 of
19 the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
20 S 7-118. Ballots; facsimile and sample. The board of elections shall
21 provide facsimile and sample ballots which shall be arranged in the form
22 of a diagram showing such part of the face of the voting machine as
23 shall be in use at that election. Such facsimile and sample ballots
24 shall be either in full or reduced size and shall contain suitable
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00150-01-5
S. 1344 2
1 illustrated directions for voting on the voting machine. Such facsimile
2 ballots shall be mounted and displayed for public inspection at each
3 polling place during election day. Sample ballots [may] SHALL be mailed
4 by the board of elections to each eligible voter [at least three days]
5 NOT LESS THAN TEN DAYS NOR MORE THAN TWENTY DAYS before the election[,
6 or in lieu thereof, a copy of such sample ballot may be published at
7 least once within one week preceding the election in newspapers repres-
8 enting the major political parties]. One copy of such facsimile shall be
9 sent to each school in the county, providing the ninth through the
10 twelfth years of compulsory education, and in the city of New York to
11 each such school in the city of New York, at least one week before each
12 general election for posting at a convenient place in such school. The
13 board of elections shall also send a facsimile ballot to any other
14 school requesting such a ballot.
15 S 3. This act shall take effect on the first of December next succeed-
16 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
