Bill Text: NY S04205 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Extends the right to vote in all elections to aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S04205 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S04205-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4205 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 6, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. DILAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections AN ACT to amend the election law, the town law and the education law, in relation to the right to vote The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The legislature hereby finds and declares that the right to 2 vote is an essential part of membership in the communities which make up 3 the state of New York. In order to ensure that all persons who perma- 4 nently and legally reside in our state have a voice and a stake in the 5 decisions made by the political process, it is necessary and proper to 6 extend the right to them, as citizens of New York state, to vote in 7 elections for offices and on issues which affect them. 8 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 5-102 of the election law is amended to 9 read as follows: 10 1. No person shall be qualified to register for and vote at any 11 election unless he or she is a citizen of the United States or an alien 12 lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States and is or 13 will be, on the day of such election, eighteen years of age or over, and 14 a resident of this state and of the county, city or village for a mini- 15 mum of thirty days next preceding such election. 16 § 3. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of the election 17 law, as amended by chapter 179 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read 18 as follows: 19 (g) Notice that the applicant must be a citizen of the United States 20 or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United 21 States, is or will be at least eighteen years old not later than Decem- 22 ber thirty-first of the calendar year in which he or she registers and a 23 resident of the county or city to which application is made. 24 § 4. Subdivision 8 of section 7-122 of the election law, as amended by 25 chapter 165 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09226-01-7S. 4205 2 1 8. On the reverse side of such inner affirmation envelope shall be 2 printed the following statement: 3 AFFIRMATION 4 I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States or an alien 5 lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, that I 6 am duly registered in the election district shown on the reverse side of 7 this envelope and I am qualified to vote in such district; that I will 8 be unable to appear personally on the day of the election for which this 9 ballot is voted at the polling place of the election district in which I 10 am a qualified voter because of the reason given on my application here- 11 tofore submitted; that I have not qualified nor do I intend to vote 12 elsewhere, that I have not committed any act nor am I under any imped- 13 iment which denies me the right to vote. 14 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 15 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 16 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 17 guilty of a misdemeanor. 18 Date.................20..... ..................................... 19 Signature or mark of voter 20 ..................................... 21 Signature of Witness (required only 22 if voter does not sign his own name) 23 ..................................... 24 Address of Witness 25 § 5. Subdivision 3 of section 7-123 of the election law, as amended by 26 chapter 104 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 27 3. The board of elections shall furnish an inner affirmation envelope 28 with each military ballot upon which envelope shall be printed: 29 BALLOT FOR MILITARY VOTER 30 AFFIRMATION 31 I swear or affirm that: 32 (a) I am a member of the uniformed services or merchant marine on 33 active duty or an eligible spouse, parent, child or dependent of such a 34 member, and 35 (b) I am a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for 36 permanent residence in the United States, at least eighteen years of age 37 (or will be by the day of the election), eligible to vote in the 38 requested jurisdiction, and 39 (c) I have neither been convicted of a felony or other disqualifying 40 offense nor been adjudicated mentally incompetent, or if so, my voting 41 rights have been reinstated, and 42 (d) I am not registering, requesting a ballot, or voting in any other 43 jurisdiction in the United States, and 44 (e) My signature and date below indicate when I completed this docu- 45 ment, and 46 (f) The information on this form is true and complete to the best of 47 my knowledge. 48 I understand that a material misstatement of fact in the completion of 49 this document may constitute grounds for conviction of a crime.S. 4205 3 1 Date .......... 20.... 2 ................................ 3 Signature or mark of voter 4 ................................ 5 Signature of Witness (required 6 only if voter does not sign his 7 or her own name) 8 ................................ 9 Address of Witness 10 § 6. Subdivision 3 of section 7-125 of the election law, as amended by 11 chapter 235 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 12 3. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the follow- 13 ing statement: 14 STATEMENT OF SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL VOTER 15 I do declare I am a qualified special presidential voter of said 16 district; that I am not qualified and am not able to qualify to vote 17 elsewhere than as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I 18 am a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for 19 permanent residence in the United States; that on the date of the 20 election for which this ballot is voted, I will be at least eighteen 21 years of age; and that I have not committed any act, nor am I under any 22 impediment, which denies me the right to vote. 23 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 24 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 25 false statement in the foregoing statement, I shall be guilty of a 26 misdemeanor. 27 Date..........20...... 28 ............................... 29 Signature or mark of Voter 30 ............................... 31 Signature of Witness (required 32 only if voter does not sign his 33 own name) 34 ............................... 35 Address of Witness 36 § 7. Subdivision 3 of section 8-504 of the election law, as renumbered 37 by chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows: 38 3. After receiving the answers as above specified, of any applicant, 39 the board shall, if it believes the applicant to be qualified or the 40 challenge is withdrawn, permit him or her to vote. Otherwise, the board 41 shall point out to him or her the qualifications, if any, in respect of 42 which he or she shall appear deficient. If, after such deficiencies 43 have been so indicated, the applicant shall persist in his or her claim 44 to vote, an inspector shall administer to him or her the following oath, 45 which shall be known as "The Qualification Oath": "You do swear (or 46 affirm) that you are eighteen years of age, that you are a citizen of 47 the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 48 in the United States and that you have been a resident of this state, 49 and of this county (of the city of New York) (village) for thirty days 50 next preceding this election, that you still reside at the same address 51 from which you have been duly registered in this election district, that 52 you have not voted at this election, and that you do not know of anyS. 4205 4 1 reason why you are not qualified to vote at this election. You do 2 further declare that you are aware that it is a crime to make any false 3 statement. That all the statements you have made to the board have been 4 true and that you understand that a false statement is perjury and you 5 will be guilty of a misdemeanor." 6 § 8. Paragraph b of subdivision 5 of section 84-a of the town law, as 7 amended by section 10 of part LL of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is 8 amended to read as follows: 9 b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the following 10 statement: 11 STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER 12 I do declare that I will have been a citizen of the United States or 13 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States 14 for thirty days, and will be at least eighteen years of age, on the date 15 of the special town election; that I will have been a resident of this 16 state and of the town shown on the reverse side of this envelope for 17 thirty days next preceding the said election; that I am or on such date 18 will be, a registered voter of said town; that I will be unable to 19 appear personally on the day of said special town election at the poll- 20 ing place of the election district in which I am or will be a qualified 21 voter because of the reason stated on my application heretofore submit- 22 ted; that I have not qualified, or do I intend to vote, elsewhere than 23 as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I have not 24 received or offered, do not expect to receive, have not paid, offered or 25 promised to pay, contributed, offered or promised to contribute to 26 another to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing, as a 27 compensation or reward for the giving or withholding of a vote at this 28 special town election, and have not made any promise to influence the 29 giving or withholding of any such votes; that I have not made or become 30 directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the 31 result of this special town election; and that I have not been convicted 32 of bribery or any infamous crime, or, if so convicted, that I have been 33 pardoned or restored to all the rights of a citizen, without restriction 34 as to the right of suffrage, or received a certificate of relief from 35 disabilities or a certificate of good conduct pursuant to article twen- 36 ty-three of the correction law removing my disability to register and 37 vote. 38 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 39 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 40 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 41 guilty of a misdemeanor. 42 Date.............. Signature of Voter.................. 43 § 9. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 213-b of the town law, as 44 added by chapter 400 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows: 45 a. An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an applica- 46 tion setting forth (1) his or her name and residence address, including 47 the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any; 48 (2) that he or she is or will be, on the day of the election, a quali- 49 fied voter of the district in which or she he resides in that he or she 50 is or will be, on such date, over eighteen years of age, a citizen of 51 the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 52 in the United States and has or will have resided in the district for 53 thirty days next preceding such date; (3) that he or she is registered 54 in the town; (4) that he or she will be unable to appear to vote in 55 person on the day of the election for which the absentee ballot is 56 requested because he or she is, or will be on such day (a) a patient inS. 4205 5 1 a hospital, or unable to appear personally at the polling place on such 2 day because of illness or physical disability or (b) because his or her 3 duties, occupation or business will require him or her to be outside of 4 the county or city of his or her residence on such day, (c) because he 5 or she will be on vacation outside the county or city of his or her 6 residence on such day; or, (d) absent from his or her voting residence 7 because he or she is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or 8 awaiting trial or is confined in prison after conviction for an offense 9 other than a felony. Such application must be received by the district 10 secretary at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be 11 mailed to the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to 12 be delivered personally to the voter or his or her agent. 13 § 10. Paragraph b of subdivision 5 of section 213-b of the town law, 14 as added by section 12 of part LL of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is 15 amended to read as follows: 16 b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the follow- 17 ing statement: 18 STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER 19 I do declare that I will have been a citizen of the United States or 20 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States 21 for thirty days, and will be at least eighteen years of age, on the date 22 of the district election; that I will have been a resident of this state 23 and of the district if any, shown on the reverse side of this envelope 24 for thirty days next preceding the said election and that I am or on 25 such date will be, a registered voter of said district; that I will be 26 unable to appear personally on the day of said district election at the 27 polling place of the said district in which I am or will be a qualified 28 voter because of the reason stated on my application heretofore submit- 29 ted; that I have not qualified, or do I intend to vote, elsewhere than 30 as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I have not 31 received or offered, do not expect to receive, have not paid, offered or 32 promised to pay, contributed, offered or promised to contribute to 33 another to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing, as a 34 compensation or reward for the giving or withholding of a vote at this 35 district election, and have not made any promise to influence the giving 36 or withholding of any such votes; that I have not made or become direct- 37 ly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the 38 result of this district election; and that I have not been convicted of 39 bribery or any infamous crime, or, if so convicted, that I have been 40 pardoned or restored to all the rights of a citizen, without restriction 41 as to the right of suffrage, or received a certificate of relief from 42 disabilities or a certificate of good conduct pursuant to article twen- 43 ty-three of the correction law removing my disability to register and 44 vote. 45 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 46 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 47 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 48 guilty of a misdemeanor. 49 Date............. Signature of Voter .............................. 50 § 11. Subdivision 1 of section 2012 of the education law, as amended 51 by chapter 1169 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows: 52 1. A citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for 53 permanent residence in the United States.S. 4205 6 1 § 12. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 2018-a of the education 2 law, as amended by chapter 136 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read 3 as follows: 4 a. An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an applica- 5 tion setting forth (1) his or her name and residence address, including 6 the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any; 7 (2) that he or she is or will be, on the day of the school district 8 election, a qualified voter of the school district in which he or she 9 resides in that he or she is or will be, on such date, over eighteen 10 years of age, a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admit- 11 ted for permanent residence in the United States and has or will have 12 resided in the district for thirty days next preceding such date; (3) 13 whether he or she is registered in the district; (4) that he or she will 14 be unable to appear to vote in person on the day of the school district 15 election for which the absentee ballot is requested because he or she 16 is, or will be on such day (a) a patient in a hospital, or unable to 17 appear personally at the polling place on such day because of illness or 18 physical disability or (b) because his or her duties, occupation, busi- 19 ness, or studies will require him or her to be outside of the county or 20 city of his or her residence on such day, (c) because he or she will be 21 on vacation outside the county or city of his or her residence on such 22 day; or, (d) absent from his or her voting residence because he or she 23 is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial or 24 is confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felo- 25 ny. Such application must be received by the district clerk at least 26 seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the 27 voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be delivered 28 personally to the voter. 29 § 13. Paragraph b of subdivision 5 of section 2018-a of the education 30 law, as amended by section 8 of part LL of chapter 56 of the laws of 31 2010, is amended to read as follows: 32 b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the following 33 statement: 34 STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER 35 I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States or an alien 36 lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, and will 37 be at least eighteen years of age, on the date of the school district 38 election; that I will have been a resident of this state and of the 39 school district and school election district, if any, shown on the 40 reverse side of this envelope for thirty days next preceding the said 41 election and duly registered in the school district and school election 42 district, if any, shown on the reverse side of this envelope and that I 43 am or on such date will be, a qualified voter of said school district; 44 that I will be unable to appear personally on the day of said school 45 district election at the polling place of the said district in which I 46 am or will be a qualified voter because of the reason stated on my 47 application heretofore submitted; that I have not qualified, or do I 48 intend to vote, elsewhere than as set forth on the reverse side of this 49 envelope; that I have not received or offered, do not expect to receive, 50 have not paid, offered or promised to pay, contributed, offered or prom- 51 ised to contribute to another to be paid or used, any money or other 52 valuable thing, as a compensation or reward for the giving or withhold- 53 ing of a vote at this school district election, and have not made any 54 promise to influence the giving or withholding of any such votes; that IS. 4205 7 1 have not made or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or 2 wager depending upon the result of this school district election; and 3 that I have not been convicted of bribery or any infamous crime, or, if 4 so convicted, that I have been pardoned or restored to all the rights of 5 a citizen, without restriction as to the right of suffrage, or received 6 a certificate of relief from disabilities or a certificate of good 7 conduct pursuant to article twenty-three of the correction law removing 8 my disability to register and vote. 9 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 10 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 11 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 12 guilty of a misdemeanor. 13 Date.....................Signature of Voter .......................... 14 § 14. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 2018-b of the education 15 law, as amended by chapter 46 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as 16 follows: 17 a. An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an applica- 18 tion setting forth (1) his or her name and residence address, including 19 the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any; 20 (2) that he or she is or will be, on the day of the school district 21 election, a qualified voter of the school district in which he or she 22 resides in that he or she is or will be, on such date, over eighteen 23 years of age, a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admit- 24 ted for permanent residence in the United States and has or will have 25 resided in the district for thirty days next preceding such date; (3) 26 that he or she will be unable to appear to vote in person on the day of 27 the school district election for which the absentee ballot is requested 28 because he or she is, or will be on such day (a) a patient in a hospi- 29 tal, or unable to appear personally at the polling place on such day 30 because of illness or physical disability or (b) because his or her 31 duties, occupation, business, or studies will require him or her to be 32 outside of the county or city of his or her residence on such day, (c) 33 because he or she will be on vacation outside the county or city of his 34 or her residence on such day; or, (d) absent from his or her voting 35 residence because he or she is detained in jail awaiting action by a 36 grand jury or awaiting trial or is confined in prison after conviction 37 for an offense other than a felony. Such application must be received by 38 the district clerk or designee of the trustees or school board at least 39 seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the 40 voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be delivered 41 personally to the voter. 42 § 15. Paragraph b of subdivision 6 of section 2018-b of the education 43 law, as amended by section 9 of part LL of chapter 56 of the laws of 44 2010, is amended to read as follows: 45 b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the following 46 statement: 47 STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER 48 I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States or an alien 49 lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, and will 50 be at least eighteen years of age on the date of the school district 51 election; that I will have been a resident of this state and of the 52 school district and school election district, if any, shown on theS. 4205 8 1 reverse side of this envelope for thirty days next preceding the said 2 election and that I am or on such date will be, a qualified voter of 3 said school district; that I will be unable to appear personally on the 4 day of said school district election at the polling place of the said 5 district in which I am or will be a qualified voter because of the 6 reason stated on my application heretofore submitted; that I have not 7 qualified, or do I intend to vote, elsewhere than as set forth on the 8 reverse side of this envelope; that I have not received or offered, do 9 not expect to receive, have not paid, offered or promised to pay, 10 contributed, offered or promised to contribute to another to be paid or 11 used, any money or other valuable thing, as a compensation or reward for 12 the giving or withholding of a vote at this school district election, 13 and have not made any promise to influence the giving or withholding of 14 any such votes; that I have not made or become directly or indirectly 15 interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of this school 16 district election; and that I have not been convicted of bribery or any 17 infamous crime, or, if so convicted, that I have been pardoned or 18 restored to all the rights of a citizen, without restriction as to the 19 right of suffrage, or have received a certificate of relief from disa- 20 bilities or a certificate of good conduct pursuant to article twenty- 21 three of the correction law removing my disability to vote. 22 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 23 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 24 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 25 guilty of a misdemeanor. 26 Date....................Signature of Voter ........................... 27 § 16. Subdivision 1 of section 2603 of the education law, as amended 28 by chapter 182 of the laws of 1952, is amended to read as follows: 29 1. A citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for 30 permanent residence in the United States. 31 § 17. Subdivision 5 of section 2609 of the education law, as amended 32 by chapter 919 of the laws of 1974, is amended to read as follows: 33 5. Any qualified voter of a city school district may challenge the 34 right of a person to vote at the time when he or she requests a ballot. 35 All persons named upon the applicable register as having been challenged 36 prior to the day of the election shall also be challenged before they 37 are given ballots to vote. The chairman of the board of inspectors 38 shall administer to each person so challenged the following oath: "I do 39 solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States or 40 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States; 41 that I am of the age of eighteen years or more; that I have been an 42 inhabitant of the State for the past year, a resident of the county for 43 the past four months and for the thirty days past an actual resident of 44 this city school district and am therefore qualified to vote at this 45 election." If the person challenged so swears or affirms, he or she 46 shall be permitted to vote at such election; but if he or she shall 47 refuse to so swear or affirm, he or she shall not be given a ballot or 48 be permitted to vote. 49 § 18. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 50 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
