Bill Text: NY S03047 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Sets forth provisions for absentee ballots for fire district elections and improvement district elections.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT [S03047 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S03047-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3047 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 19, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. LITTLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to absentee ballots for fire district elections and improvement district elections The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 175-b of the town law, as amended 2 by chapter 401 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows: 3 2. a. [An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an appli-4cation setting forth (1) his or her name and residence address, includ-5ing the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if6any; (2) that he or she is or will be, on the day of the election, a7qualified voter of the district in which he or she resides in that he or8she is or will be, on such date, over eighteen years of age, a citizen9of the United States and has or will have resided in the district for10thirty days next preceding such date; (3) that he or she is registered11in the town; (4) that he or she will be unable to appear to vote in12person on the day of the election for which the absentee ballot is13requested because he or she is, or will be on such day (a) a patient in14a hospital, or unable to appear personally at the polling place on such15day because of illness or physical disability or (b) because of his or16her duties, occupation or business will require him or her to be outside17of the county of his or her residence on such day, (c) because he or she18will be on vacation outside the county of his or her residence on such19day; or, (d) absent from his or her voting residence because he or she20is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial or21is confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felo-22ny. Such application must be received by the district secretary at23least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to24the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be deliv-25ered personally to the voter or his or her agent.EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00664-01-7S. 3047 2 1b. (1) Where such duties, occupation or business are of such a2nature as ordinarily to require such absence, a brief description of3such duties, occupation or business shall be set forth in such affida-4vit. (2) Where such duties, occupation or business are not of such a5nature as ordinarily to require such absence, such application shall6contain a statement of the special circumstances on account of which7such absence is required.8c. Where the applicant expects in good faith to be absent on the day9of the election because he or she will be on vacation elsewhere on such10day, such application shall also contain the dates upon which he or she11expects to begin and end such vacation, the place or places where he or12she expects to be on such vacation, the name and address of his or her13employer, if any, and if self-employed, a statement to that effect.14d. Where the absence is because of detention or confinement to jail,15such affidavit shall state whether the voter is detained awaiting action16of the grand jury or is confined after conviction for an offense other17than a felony.18e. Where a person is or would be, if he or she were a qualified19voter, entitled to apply for the right to vote by absentee ballot under20the provisions of this section, his or her spouse, parent or child, if a21qualified voter and a resident of the same district, shall be entitled22to vote as an absentee voter upon personally making and signing an23application in accordance with the preceding provisions of this subdivi-24sion and showing that he or she expects to be absent from the district25on the day of the district election by reason of accompanying or being26with the spouse, child or parent who is or would be, if he or she were a27qualified voter, so entitled to apply for the right to vote by absentee28ballot, and, in the event no application is made by such spouse, child29or parent, such further information as the fire district shall require.30f.] A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this section 31 if during all the hours of voting on the day of a fire district election 32 he or she expects to be: 33 (1) absent from the county of his or her residence; or 34 (2) unable to appear at the polling place because of illness or phys- 35 ical disability, or duties related to the primary care of one or more 36 individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or because he or she 37 will be or is a patient in a hospital; or 38 (3) an inmate or patient of a veteran's administration hospital; or 39 (4) absent from his or her voting residence because he or she is 40 detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or 41 confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other than 42 a felony, provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election 43 district of his or her residence. 44 b. Each person entitled to vote as an absentee voter pursuant to this 45 section and desirous of obtaining an absentee ballot shall make written 46 application therefor to the district secretary. Application forms for 47 use pursuant to this section shall be in a form prescribed by the state 48 board of elections. The use of any application which is on a form 49 prescribed by the state board of elections shall be acceptable. Such 50 application shall include the following statement to be signed by the 51 voter. 52 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 53 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 54 false statement in the foregoing statement of application for absentee 55 ballots, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 56 Date.....................Signature of Voter.............S. 3047 3 1 [g.] c. The application for an absentee ballot when filed must contain 2 in each instance the following information: 3 (1) Applicant's full name, date of birth, and residence address, 4 including the street and number, if any, rural delivery route, if any, 5 mailing address if different from the residence address and an address 6 to which the ballot shall be mailed. 7 (2) A statement that the applicant is a qualified and registered 8 voter. 9 (3) A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election the 10 applicant expects in good faith to be in one of the following catego- 11 ries: 12 (a) absent from the county of his or her residence; provided, however, 13 if the applicant expects to be absent from such county for a duration 14 covering more than one election and seeks an absentee ballot for each 15 election, he or she shall state the dates when he or she expects to 16 begin and end such absence; or 17 (b) unable to appear at a polling place because of illness or physical 18 disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more individ- 19 uals who are ill or physically disabled; or 20 (c) an inmate or patient of a veteran's administration hospital; or 21 (d) detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial 22 or confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other 23 than a felony and stating the place where he or she is so detained or 24 confined. 25 (4) Such application shall permit the applicant to apply for an absen- 26 tee ballot in any year. A voter who applies for an absentee ballot 27 shall be sent an absentee ballot for any fire district election that 28 occurs during the period of absence specified in the application. 29 d. An applicant whose ability to appear personally at the polling 30 place of the district of which he or she is a qualified voter is 31 substantially impaired by reason of permanent illness or physical disa- 32 bility and whose registration record has been marked "permanently disa- 33 bled" by the board of elections pursuant to the provisions of the 34 election law shall be entitled to receive an absentee ballot pursuant to 35 the provisions of this section without making separate application for 36 such absentee ballot, and the secretary of the fire district, upon being 37 advised by the board of elections on or with the list of registered 38 voters that the registration record of a voter is marked "permanently 39 disabled", shall send an absentee ballot to such voter at his or her 40 last known address by first class mail with a request to the postal 41 authorities not to forward same but to return same in five days in the 42 event that it cannot be delivered to the addressee. The election 43 inspectors of the fire district shall make an appropriate entry on the 44 registration record indicating the fact that an absentee ballot has been 45 sent and the date of mailing. 46 e. An application must be received by the district secretary no earli- 47 er than the thirtieth day before the election for which an absentee 48 ballot is sought. If the application requests that the absentee ballot 49 be mailed, such application must be received not later than seven days 50 before the election. If the applicant or his or her agent delivers the 51 application to the district secretary in person, such application must 52 be received not later than the day before the election. The district 53 secretary shall examine each application and shall determine from the 54 information contained therein whether the applicant is qualified under 55 this section to receive an absentee ballot.S. 3047 4 1 f. No later than six days before the election for which an application 2 has been received and for which the district secretary has determined 3 the applicant to be qualified to vote by absentee ballot the district 4 secretary shall mail, by regular mail, an absentee ballot to each quali- 5 fied applicant who has applied before such day and who has requested 6 that such absentee ballot be mailed to him or her at the address set 7 forth in his or her application. If the applicant or his or her agent 8 delivers the application to the district secretary in person after the 9 seventh day before the election and not later than the day before the 10 election, the district secretary shall forthwith deliver such absentee 11 ballots for those applicants whom he or she determines are qualified to 12 make such applications and to receive such ballots to such applicants or 13 the agents named in the applications when such applicants or agents 14 appear in the district secretary's office. 15 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 213-b of the town law, as added by chap- 16 ter 400 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows: 17 2. a. [An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an appli-18cation setting forth (1) his name and residence address, including the19street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any; (2)20that he is or will be, on the day of the election, a qualified voter of21the district in which he resides in that he is or will be, on such date,22over eighteen years of age, a citizen of the United States and has or23will have resided in the district for thirty days next preceding such24date; (3) that he is registered in the town; (4) that he will be unable25to appear to vote in person on the day of the election for which the26absentee ballot is requested because he is, or will be on such day (a) a27patient in a hospital, or unable to appear personally at the polling28place on such day because of illness or physical disability or (b)29because his duties, occupation or business will require him to be30outside of the county or city of his residence on such day, (c) because31he will be on vacation outside the county or city of his residence on32such day; or, (d) absent from his voting residence because he is33detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial or is34confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony.35Such application must be received by the district secretary at least36seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the37voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be delivered38personally to the voter or his agent.39b. (1) Where such duties, occupation or business are of such a nature40as ordinarily to require such absence, a brief description of such41duties, occupation or business shall be set forth in such affidavit. (2)42Where such duties, occupation or business are not of such a nature as43ordinarily to require such absence, such application shall contain a44statement of the special circumstances on account of which such absence45is required.46c. Where the applicant expects in good faith to be absent on the day47of the election because he will be on vacation elsewhere on such day,48such application shall also contain the dates upon which he expects to49begin and end such vacation, the place or places where he expects to be50on such vacation, the name and address of his employer, if any, and if51self-employed, a statement to that effect.52d. Where the absence is because of detention or confinement to jail,53such affidavit shall state whether the voter is detained awaiting action54of the grand jury or is confined after conviction for an offense other55than a felony.S. 3047 5 1e. Where a person is or would be, if he were a qualified voter, enti-2tled to apply for the right to vote by absentee ballot under the3provisions of this section, his spouse, parent or child, if a qualified4voter and a resident of the same district, shall be entitled to vote as5an absentee voter upon personally making and signing an application in6accordance with the preceding provisions of this subdivision and showing7that he expects to be absent from the district on the day of the8district election by reason of accompanying or being with the spouse,9child or parent who is or would be, if he were a qualified voter, so10entitled to apply for the right to vote by absentee ballot, and, in the11event no application is made by such spouse, child or parent, such12further information as the improvement district shall require.13f.] A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this section 14 if during all the hours of voting on the day of an improvement district 15 election he or she expects to be: 16 (1) absent from the county of his or her residence; or 17 (2) unable to appear at the polling place because of illness or phys- 18 ical disability, or duties related to the primary care of one or more 19 individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or because he or she 20 will be or is a patient in a hospital; or 21 (3) an inmate or patient of a veteran's administration hospital; or 22 (4) absent from his or her voting residence because he or she is 23 detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or 24 confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other than 25 a felony, provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election 26 district of his or her residence. 27 b. Each person entitled to vote as an absentee voter pursuant to this 28 section and desirous of obtaining an absentee ballot shall make written 29 application therefor to the district secretary. Application forms for 30 use pursuant to this section shall be in a form prescribed by the state 31 board of elections. The use of any application which is on a form 32 prescribed by the state board of elections shall be acceptable. Such 33 application shall include the following statement to be signed by the 34 voter. 35 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 36 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 37 false statement in the foregoing statement of application for absentee 38 ballots, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 39 Date ................... Signature of Voter ....................... 40 [g.] c. The application for an absentee ballot when filed must 41 contain in each instance the following information: 42 (1) Applicant's full name, date of birth, and residence address, 43 including the street and number, if any, rural delivery route, if any, 44 mailing address if different from the residence address and an address 45 to which the ballot shall be mailed. 46 (2) A statement that the applicant is a qualified and registered 47 voter. 48 (3) A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election the 49 applicant expects in good faith to be in one of the following catego- 50 ries: 51 (a) absent from the county of his or her residence; provided, however, 52 if the applicant expects to be absent from such county for a duration 53 covering more than one election and seeks an absentee ballot for each 54 election, he or she shall state the dates when he or she expects to 55 begin and end such absence; orS. 3047 6 1 (b) unable to appear at a polling place because of illness or physical 2 disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more individ- 3 uals who are ill or physically disabled; or 4 (c) an inmate or patient of a veteran's administration hospital; or 5 (d) detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial 6 or confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other 7 than a felony and stating the place where he or she is so detained or 8 confined. 9 (4) Such application shall permit the applicant to apply for an absen- 10 tee ballot in any year. A voter who applies for an absentee ballot 11 shall be sent an absentee ballot for any improvement district election. 12 d. An applicant whose ability to appear personally at the polling 13 place of the district of which he is a qualified voter is substantially 14 impaired by reason of permanent illness or physical disability and whose 15 registration record has been marked "permanently disabled" by the board 16 of elections pursuant to the provisions of the election law shall be 17 entitled to receive an absentee ballot pursuant to the provisions of 18 this section without making separate application for such absentee 19 ballot, and the secretary of the improvement district, upon being 20 advised by the board of elections on or with the list of registered 21 voters that the registration record of a voter is marked "permanently 22 disabled", shall send an absentee ballot to such voter at his last known 23 address by first class mail with a request to the postal authorities not 24 to forward same but to return same in five days in the event that it 25 cannot be delivered to the addressee. The board of inspectors of the 26 improvement district shall make an appropriate entry on the registration 27 record indicating the fact that an absentee ballot has been sent and the 28 date of mailing. 29 e. An application must be received by the district secretary no earli- 30 er than the thirtieth day before the election for which an absentee 31 ballot is sought. If the application requests that the absentee ballot 32 be mailed, such application must be received not later than seven days 33 before the election. If the applicant or his or her agent delivers the 34 application to the district secretary in person, such application must 35 be received not later than the day before the election. The district 36 secretary shall examine each application and shall determine from the 37 information contained therein whether the applicant is qualified under 38 this section to receive an absentee ballot. 39 f. No later than six days before the election for which an application 40 has been received and for which the district secretary has determined 41 the applicant to be qualified to vote by absentee ballot the district 42 secretary shall mail, by regular mail, an absentee ballot to each quali- 43 fied applicant who has applied before such day and who has requested 44 that such absentee ballot be mailed to him or her at the address set 45 forth in his or her application. If the applicant or his or her agent 46 delivers the application to the district secretary in person after the 47 seventh day before the election and not later than the day before the 48 election, the district secretary shall forthwith deliver such absentee 49 ballots for those applicants whom he or she determines are qualified to 50 make such applications and to receive such ballots to such applicants or 51 the agents named in the applications when such applicants or agents 52 appear in the district secretary's office. 53 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 54 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.