Bill Text: NY S03553 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Provides for the requirements in absentee ballot applications for village elections to conform to state board of election absentee ballot requirements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-08-11 - SIGNED CHAP.289 [S03553 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-S03553-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Provides for the requirements in absentee ballot applications for village elections to conform to state board of election absentee ballot requirements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-08-11 - SIGNED CHAP.289 [S03553 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-S03553-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
3553
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
February 5, 2013
___________
Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- 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 absentee voting at
village elections
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Section 15-120 of the election law, paragraph (b) of subdi-
2 vision 1 and subdivision 8 as amended by chapter 373 of the laws of
3 1978, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 279 of the laws of 1983,
4 subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 333 of the laws of 1983, subdivi-
5 sions 4 and 5 as amended by chapter 84 of the laws of 1986 and subdivi-
6 sion 6 as amended by chapter 216 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read
7 as follows:
8 S 15-120. Absentee voting at village elections. 1. A qualified [elec-
9 tor] VOTER of a village may vote as an absentee voter under this section
10 if during all the hours of voting on the day of a general or special
11 village election he OR SHE will be:
12 [(a) Unavoidably absent from the county in which his residence is
13 located because:
14 i. he is a member of the armed forces of the United States of America;
15 or
16 ii. he is a student matriculated at an institution of learning located
17 outside such county; or
18 iii. he is a patient at a veterans administration hospital; or
19 iv. his duties, occupation or business require him to be so absent,
20 provided, however, such absence is not caused by the fact that his regu-
21 lar and daily place of business is located outside of said county.
22 (b) Absent from the county in which his residence is located because
23 he is on vacation outside said county.
24 (c) He is the spouse, parent or child of, and resides in the same
25 household with, a person qualified under any of the foregoing paragraphs
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04494-01-3
S. 3553 2
1 of this subdivision and will also be absent from said county by reason
2 of accompanying the person so qualified.]
3 (A) ABSENT FROM THE COUNTY OF HIS OR HER RESIDENCE; OR
4 (B) UNABLE TO APPEAR AT THE POLLING PLACE BECAUSE OF ILLNESS OR PHYS-
5 ICAL DISABILITY, OR DUTIES RELATED TO THE PRIMARY CARE OF ONE OR MORE
6 INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ILL OR PHYSICALLY DISABLED, OR BECAUSE HE OR SHE
7 WILL BE OR IS A PATIENT IN A HOSPITAL; OR
8 (C) AN INMATE OR PATIENT OF A VETERAN'S ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL; OR
9 (D) ABSENT FROM HIS OR HER VOTING RESIDENCE BECAUSE HE OR SHE IS
10 DETAINED IN JAIL AWAITING ACTION BY A GRAND JURY OR AWAITING TRIAL, OR
11 CONFINED IN JAIL OR PRISON AFTER A CONVICTION FOR AN OFFENSE OTHER THAN
12 A FELONY, PROVIDED THAT HE OR SHE IS QUALIFIED TO VOTE IN THE ELECTION
13 DISTRICT OF HIS OR HER RESIDENCE.
14 2. Each person entitled to vote as an absentee voter pursuant to this
15 section and desirous of obtaining an absentee ballot shall make written
16 application therefor to the village clerk. Application forms for use
17 pursuant to this section shall be in a form prescribed by the state
18 board of elections. The use of any application which is on a form
19 prescribed by the state board of elections shall be acceptable.
20 3. An application for an absentee ballot must be signed by the appli-
21 cant. Such application may require that the applicant submit a certif-
22 icate in lieu of any affidavit which shall state that the information
23 contained in the application is true. Such certificate shall be accepted
24 for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit and shall have the
25 following language printed in bold face type above the signature line:
26 "I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CERTIFICATE WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR
27 ALL PURPOSES AS THE EQUIVALENT OF AN AFFIDAVIT AND, IF
28 IT CONTAINS A MATERIAL FALSE STATEMENT, SHALL SUBJECT ME
29 TO THE SAME PENALTIES AS IF I HAD BEEN DULY SWORN."
30 4. THE APPLICATION FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT WHEN FILED MUST CONTAIN IN
31 EACH INSTANCE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
32 (A) APPLICANT'S FULL NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, AND RESIDENCE ADDRESS,
33 INCLUDING THE STREET AND NUMBER, IF ANY, RURAL DELIVERY ROUTE, IF ANY,
34 MAILING ADDRESS IF DIFFERENT FROM THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS AND HIS OR HER
35 VILLAGE AND AN ADDRESS TO WHICH THE BALLOT SHALL BE MAILED.
36 (B) A STATEMENT THAT THE APPLICANT IS A QUALIFIED AND REGISTERED
37 VOTER.
38 (C) A STATEMENT, AS APPROPRIATE, THAT ON THE DAY OF SUCH ELECTION THE
39 APPLICANT EXPECTS IN GOOD FAITH TO BE IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CATEGO-
40 RIES:
41 (I) ABSENT FROM THE COUNTY OF HIS OR HER RESIDENCE; PROVIDED, HOWEVER,
42 IF THE APPLICANT EXPECTS TO BE ABSENT FROM SUCH COUNTY FOR A DURATION
43 COVERING MORE THAN ONE ELECTION AND SEEKS AN ABSENTEE BALLOT FOR EACH
44 ELECTION, HE OR SHE SHALL STATE THE DATES WHEN HE OR SHE EXPECTS TO
45 BEGIN AND END SUCH ABSENCE; OR
46 (II) UNABLE TO APPEAR AT A POLLING PLACE BECAUSE OF ILLNESS OR PHYS-
47 ICAL DISABILITY OR DUTIES RELATED TO THE PRIMARY CARE OF ONE OR MORE
48 INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ILL OR PHYSICALLY DISABLED; OR
49 (III) AN INMATE OR PATIENT OF A VETERAN'S ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL; OR
50 (IV) DETAINED IN JAIL AWAITING ACTION BY A GRAND JURY OR AWAITING
51 TRIAL OR CONFINED IN JAIL OR PRISON AFTER A CONVICTION FOR AN OFFENSE
52 OTHER THAN A FELONY AND STATING THE PLACE WHERE HE OR SHE IS SO DETAINED
53 OR CONFINED.
54 (D) SUCH APPLICATION SHALL PERMIT THE APPLICANT TO APPLY FOR AN ABSEN-
55 TEE BALLOT FOR EITHER A PRIMARY ELECTION OR THE GENERAL ELECTION IN ANY
56 YEAR AND FOR THOSE PERSONS WHO WILL BE CONTINUOUSLY ABSENT FROM THEIR
S. 3553 3
1 COUNTY OF RESIDENCE DURING THE PERIOD BETWEEN THE FALL PRIMARY ELECTION
2 AND THE GENERAL ELECTION IN ANY YEAR TO APPLY FOR BALLOTS FOR BOTH SUCH
3 ELECTIONS IN SUCH YEAR. A VOTER WHO APPLIES FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT SHALL
4 BE SENT AN ABSENTEE BALLOT FOR ANY SPECIAL ELECTION OR WINTER PRIMARY
5 THAT OCCURS DURING THE PERIOD OF ABSENCE SPECIFIED IN THE APPLICATION.
6 5. An application must be received by the village clerk no earlier
7 than [four months] THE THIRTIETH DAY before the election for which an
8 absentee ballot is sought. If the application requests that the absentee
9 ballot be mailed, such application must be received not later than seven
10 days before the election. If the applicant or his OR HER agent delivers
11 the application to the village clerk in person, such application must be
12 received not later than the day before the election. The village clerk
13 shall examine each application and shall determine from the information
14 contained therein whether the applicant is qualified under this section
15 to receive an absentee ballot. The clerk in making such decision shall
16 not determine whether the applicant is a qualified elector, said deter-
17 mination being reserved to the inspectors of election as is hereinafter
18 provided in subdivision [eight] NINE of this section.
19 [5] 6. No later than six days before the election for which an appli-
20 cation has been received and for which the village clerk has determined
21 the applicant to be qualified to vote by absentee ballot the village
22 clerk shall mail, by regular mail, an absentee ballot to each qualified
23 applicant who has applied before such day and who has requested that
24 such absentee ballot be mailed to him OR HER at the address set forth in
25 his OR HER application. If the applicant or his OR HER agent delivers
26 the application to the village clerk in person after the seventh day
27 before the village election and not later than the day before the
28 election, the village clerk shall forthwith deliver such absentee
29 ballots for those applicants whom he OR SHE determines are qualified to
30 make such applications and to receive such ballots to such applicants or
31 the agents named in the applications when such applicants or agents
32 appear in the village clerk's office.
33 [6] 7. The absentee ballot shall be caused to be prepared and printed
34 by the village clerk as provided by law for paper ballots or machine
35 ballots, whichever are to be used in said election and appropriate
36 modifications for the purposes of this section. He OR SHE shall also
37 cause to be prepared and printed return envelopes addressed to him OR
38 HER, conforming so far as may be practicable to the provisions of this
39 chapter stating thereon that in order for the ballot contained therein
40 to be counted it must be received by the village clerk not later than
41 the close of the polls on election day. On the reverse side of each
42 return envelope there shall be written instructions for the voter to
43 insert at designated places his OR HER signature, his OR HER name print-
44 ed, his OR HER residence address within the village and his OR HER
45 village election district if there be more than one district within the
46 village.
47 [7] 8. The method of marking, preparing and mailing such ballot for
48 voting shall conform, wherever practicable, to the methods used for
49 absentee ballots for a general election, except that the envelope in
50 which it is contained shall be returned to the village clerk. On the day
51 of the election, the village clerk shall deliver all such ballots, which
52 have been returned to him OR HER, in the sealed envelopes to the board
53 of inspectors of election of the proper election district. No such
54 ballot shall be deemed to have been voted unless or until it shall have
55 been delivered to the board of inspectors of election of the election
56 district in which the elector casting the ballot resides and shall have
S. 3553 4
1 been deposited by the chairman of such board in the box provided for
2 receiving such ballot.
3 [8] 9. When such ballots shall have been delivered to the board of
4 inspectors of election of the proper election district and shall have
5 been duly determined by such board to have been lawfully cast by a qual-
6 ified elector of such district, the chairman of such board shall, after
7 the close of the polls, open the envelopes containing such ballots and,
8 without unfolding such ballots or permitting the face thereof to be
9 exposed to the view of anyone, shall deposit each such ballot in a box
10 specifically furnished for such purpose by the village clerk. If the
11 board of inspectors shall determine that any such ballot has been cast
12 by an elector who would not be qualified under the provisions of this
13 section, then such ballot shall not be counted.
14 [9] 10. After all the ballots shall have been deposited, the box
15 shall be opened and such ballots canvassed in the same manner as other
16 ballots cast at such election and shall be counted and included in the
17 total of all ballots cast at such election.
18 S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
