STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2976--A
Cal. No. 888
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 18, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sens. LAVALLE, AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections --
recommitted to the Committee on Elections in accordance with Senate
Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to
first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and
ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to military voters and
ballots for election of members of the board of education and school
district public library trustees, and the adoption of the annual budg-
et and school district public library budget and referenda
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2018-d
2 to read as follows:
3 § 2018-d. Military voters. 1. As used in this section, the following
4 terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Military service" means the military service of the state, or of
6 the United States, including the army, navy, marine corps, air force,
7 coast guard, merchant marine and all components thereof, and the coast
8 and geodetic survey, the public health service, the national guard when
9 in the service of the United States pursuant to call as provided by law,
10 and the cadets or midshipmen of the United States Military Academy,
11 United States Naval Academy, United States Air Force Academy and United
12 States Coast Guard Academy.
13 (b) "Military voter" means a qualified voter of the state of New York
14 who is in actual military service, as defined in paragraph (a) of this
15 subdivision, and by reason of such military service is absent from his
16 or her district on the day of registration or election, or a voter who
17 is discharged from such military service within thirty days of an
18 election and the spouse, parent, child or dependent of such voter accom-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06918-02-8
S. 2976--A 2
1 panying or being with him or her, if a qualified voter and a resident of
2 the same school district.
3 (c) "Military ballot" means the ballot prepared, printed and supplied
4 for use by the military for the election of members of the board of
5 education and school district public library trustees, the adoption of
6 the annual budget and school district public library budget and referen-
7 da.
8 (d) "Military address" means the mailing address of a military voter
9 other than his or her residence address in his or her school district.
10 (e) "Appropriate school board of education" means the board of educa-
11 tion in whose jurisdiction the military voter resides as a qualified
12 voter.
13 2. A military voter may designate a preference to receive a military
14 ballot by mail, facsimile transmission or electronic mail. Such desig-
15 nation shall remain in effect until revoked or changed by the military
16 voter. If a military voter does not designate a preference, the board of
17 education shall transmit the military ballot application or military
18 ballot by mail. If a military voter designates a preference for facsim-
19 ile transmission or electronic mail but does not provide the necessary
20 facsimile number or e-mail address, the board of education shall trans-
21 mit the voter registration application, military ballot application or
22 military ballot by mail and request the omitted information. All commu-
23 nications to the military voter shall include the mailing address of the
24 board of education.
25 3. Irrespective of the preferred method of transmission designated by
26 a military voter, a military voter's original military ballot applica-
27 tion and military ballot must be returned by mail or in person.
28 4. Ballots for military voters shall be mailed or otherwise distrib-
29 uted by the board of education, in accordance with the preferred method
30 of transmission, as soon as practicable, but not later than twenty-five
31 days before any election as provided in this article, and fourteen days
32 before any election as provided in article fifty-three of this title.
33 5. The military voter shall mark the military ballot provided for in
34 this article in the same manner as an absentee ballot. After marking the
35 ballot, he or she shall fold such ballot and enclose it in the inner
36 affirmation envelope bearing the military voter's affirmation on the
37 outside of the envelope and seal the envelope. He or she shall then sign
38 the affirmation, with the blanks properly filled in. The inner affirma-
39 tion envelope containing the military ballot shall then be inserted in
40 the outer envelope addressed to the appropriate board of education,
41 which shall be mailed or personally delivered to the appropriate board
42 of education within the time limits provided by this article.
43 6. The board of education shall cause all military ballots received by
44 it before the close of the polls on election day and showing a cancella-
45 tion mark of the United States postal service or a foreign country's
46 postal service, or showing a dated endorsement of receipt by another
47 agency of the United States government or are signed and dated by the
48 voter and one witness thereto, with a date which is ascertained to be
49 not later than the day before election and which must be received in the
50 office of the clerk of the school district not later than five p.m. on
51 the day of the election in order to be canvassed.
52 7. The board of inspectors shall thereafter process such ballots in
53 the same manner as provided in sections two thousand eighteen-a and two
54 thousand eighteen-b of this article for the canvassing of absentee
55 ballots.
S. 2976--A 3
1 8. The board of education shall determine, three days before the first
2 day for distribution of military ballots, the names of all candidates
3 duly nominated for public office and the amendments, referenda, proposi-
4 tions and questions to be voted for on such ballots. If at a later date
5 the nomination of any candidate named on a military ballot is found
6 invalid, the ballot shall still be valid, but no vote cast for any such
7 candidate on such ballot shall be counted at the election. The failure
8 of any school board to include the name of any candidate or any proposi-
9 tion or question on the military ballot shall in no way affect the
10 validity of the election with respect to the office for which the nomi-
11 nation was made or the validity of the military ballot as to any other
12 matter.
13 9. The department is authorized to take such steps and do such things
14 as, in its opinion, are necessary to make effective the provisions of
15 any other section, in order to utilize fully any federal or other facil-
16 ities in the distribution of military ballots.
17 10. The provisions of this section shall be liberally construed for
18 the purpose of providing military voters the opportunity to vote. The
19 department shall have power to adopt and promulgate regulations to
20 effectuate the provisions of this section.
21 § 2. Section 2613 of the education law, as amended by chapter 307 of
22 the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
23 § 2613. Absentee and military ballots. The board of education of each
24 city school district to which this article applies shall provide for
25 absentee ballots in accordance with the provisions of section two thou-
26 sand eighteen-a of this [chapter] title, and military ballots in accord-
27 ance with section two thousand eighteen-d of this title.
28 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.