Bill Text: NY S05545 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relates to absentee ballots for school district elections during a declared disaster emergency; a voter can apply for an absentee ballot when they are unable to appear personally at the polling place of the school district in which they are a qualified voter because there is a risk of contracting or spreading a disease that may cause illness to the voter or to other members of the public.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-04-26 - SIGNED CHAP.60 [S05545 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S05545-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5545

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 10, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. MAYER, KAPLAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

        AN  ACT  to amend the education law, in relation to absentee ballots for
          school district elections during a declared  disaster  emergency;  and
          providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision  2  of  section  2018-a  of  the
     2  education law, as amended by chapter 616 of the laws of 2019, is amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    a.  A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this section
     5  if during all the hours of voting on the day of an election  he  or  she
     6  will be:
     7    (1) absent from the county of his or her residence; or
     8    (2)  unable to appear at the polling place because of illness or phys-
     9  ical disability, or duties related to the primary care of  one  or  more
    10  individuals  who  are  ill  or physically disabled, or because he or she
    11  will be or is a patient in a hospital, provided that,  for  purposes  of
    12  this  subparagraph,  "illness"  shall  include,  but  not be limited to,
    13  instances where a voter is unable to appear personally  at  the  polling
    14  place of the school district in which they are a qualified voter because
    15  there  is  a  risk  of contracting or spreading a disease that may cause
    16  illness to the voter or to other members of the public; or
    17    (3) an inmate or patient of a veteran's administration hospital; or
    18    (4) absent from his or her voting  residence  because  he  or  she  is
    19  detained  in  jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or
    20  confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other  than
    21  a  felony,  provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election
    22  district of his or her residence.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10337-02-1
        S. 5545                             2

     1    § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 2018-b of  the  education
     2  law, as amended by chapter 46 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    a.  An  applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an applica-
     5  tion setting forth (1) his name and  residence  address,  including  the
     6  street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any; (2)
     7  that  he  is  or  will be, on the day of the school district election, a
     8  qualified voter of the school district in which he resides in that he is
     9  or will be, on such date, over eighteen years of age, a citizen  of  the
    10  United  States  and  has or will have resided in the district for thirty
    11  days next preceding such date; (3) that he will be unable to  appear  to
    12  vote  in person on the day of the school district election for which the
    13  absentee ballot is requested because he is, or will be on such day (a) a
    14  patient in a hospital, or unable to appear  personally  at  the  polling
    15  place  on  such  day  because  of  illness  or physical disability [or],
    16  provided that, for purposes of this paragraph, "illness" shall  include,
    17  but  not  be  limited  to,  instances  where a voter is unable to appear
    18  personally at the polling place of the school district in which they are
    19  a qualified voter because there is a risk of contracting or spreading  a
    20  disease  that  may cause illness to the voter or to other members of the
    21  public, (b) because his duties, occupation, business,  or  studies  will
    22  require him to be outside of the county or city of his residence on such
    23  day,  (c)  because  he will be on vacation outside the county or city of
    24  his residence on such day; or, (d)  absent  from  his  voting  residence
    25  because he is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or await-
    26  ing trial or is confined in prison after conviction for an offense other
    27  than  a  felony. Such application must be received by the district clerk
    28  or designee of the trustees or school board at least seven  days  before
    29  the  election  if  the  ballot  is to be mailed to the voter, or the day
    30  before the election, if the ballot is to be delivered personally to  the
    31  voter.
    32    §  3.  Paragraph  s  of subdivision 2 of section 1951 of the education
    33  law, as added by chapter 722 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read  as
    34  follows:
    35    s.  The board of cooperative educational services shall provide absen-
    36  tee ballots to qualified voters.  The  commissioner  shall  adopt  regu-
    37  lations  for  the  purposes of implementing the provisions of this para-
    38  graph which shall include, but not be limited to, creating the procedure
    39  for which such absentee ballots shall be submitted; providing that  such
    40  absentee ballots shall be, as nearly as practicable, in the same form as
    41  those voted at the district election; requiring that any absentee ballot
    42  applicant  is  or  will be, on the day of the vote, a qualified voter of
    43  the board of cooperative educational services and that he or she will be
    44  on such date over eighteen years of age, a citizen of the United  States
    45  and  has  or  will  have  resided  in said district for thirty days next
    46  preceding such date; and providing instructions as to the proper marking
    47  thereof.  For purposes of this paragraph, qualified voters of a board of
    48  cooperative educational services may request an absentee ballot  subject
    49  to the conditions set forth in paragraph a of subdivision two of section
    50  two thousand eighteen-b of this title.
    51    §  4.  This  act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
    52  deemed repealed January 1, 2022.