Bill Text: NY S06653 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits the delivery of an absentee ballot or an application therefore to an address associated with a candidate's campaign.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S06653 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S06653-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6653

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       May 3, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- 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 prohibiting the  deliv-
          ery  of  an  absentee ballot or an application therefore to an address
          associated with a candidate's campaign

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

     1    Section  1.  Paragraph  (d)  of  subdivision 2 of section 8-400 of the
     2  election law, as separately amended by chapters 273 and 746 of the  laws
     3  of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (d)  The  board  of  elections  shall mail an absentee ballot to every
     5  qualified voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests  such
     6  an  absentee ballot from such board of elections in writing in a letter,
     7  telefax indicating the address, phone number and the telefax number from
     8  which the writing is sent or other written instrument, or an  electronic
     9  application  submitted  by  the  voter  through  the electronic absentee
    10  ballot application transmittal system established by the state board  of
    11  elections,  which  is  signed  by the voter and received by the board of
    12  elections not later than the fifteenth day before the election for which
    13  the ballot is first requested and which states  the  address  where  the
    14  voter is registered and the address to which the ballot is to be mailed;
    15  provided,  however,  a  military  voter may request a military ballot or
    16  voter registration application or an absentee ballot  application  in  a
    17  letter  as provided in subdivision three of section 10-106 of this chap-
    18  ter; [and] provided further, a  special  federal  voter  may  request  a
    19  special  federal ballot or voter registration application or an absentee
    20  ballot application in a letter as provided in paragraph d of subdivision
    21  one of section 11-202 of this chapter; and provided further,  no  ballot
    22  application  shall be mailed to an address associated with a candidate's
    23  campaign. The board of elections shall enclose with such ballot  a  form

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10839-01-3
        S. 6653                             2

     1  of  application  for absentee ballot if the applicant is registered with
     2  such board of elections.
     3    § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 8-406 of the election law, as amended by
     4  section  2  of  part HH of chapter 55 of the laws of 2022, is amended to
     5  read as follows:
     6    1. If the board shall find that the applicant is a qualified voter  of
     7  the  election  district containing his or her residence as stated in his
     8  or her statement and that his or her statement is sufficient, it  shall,
     9  as  soon  as practicable after it shall have determined his or her right
    10  thereto, mail to him or her at an address designated by him or  her,  or
    11  deliver  to  him or her, or to any person designated for such purpose in
    12  writing by him or her, at the office of  the  board,  such  an  absentee
    13  voter's ballot or set of ballots and an envelope therefor. If the ballot
    14  or  ballots  are  to  be  sent outside of the United States to a country
    15  other than Canada or Mexico, such ballot or ballots shall be sent by air
    16  mail.  However, if an applicant who is eligible for an  absentee  ballot
    17  is a resident of a facility operated or licensed by, or under the juris-
    18  diction of, the department of mental hygiene, or a resident of a facili-
    19  ty  defined as a nursing home or residential health care facility pursu-
    20  ant to subdivisions two and three of section two thousand eight  hundred
    21  one  of  the  public  health  law,  or a resident of a hospital or other
    22  facility operated by the Veteran's Administration of the United  States,
    23  such  absentee  ballot  need  not  be so mailed or delivered to any such
    24  applicant but, may be delivered to the voter in the manner prescribed by
    25  section 8-407 of this [chapter] title if such facility is located in the
    26  county or city in which such voter is eligible to  vote.    No  absentee
    27  voter's  ballot  shall  be mailed to an address associated with a candi-
    28  date's campaign.
    29    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.