Bill Text: NY A02358 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides that a qualified voter may receive an absentee ballot if such voter is unable to appear personally at the polling place of the election district in which such individual is a qualified voter because of a religious observance or practice.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-16 - referred to election law [A02358 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A02358-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2358

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 16, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  EICHENSTEIN -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Election Law

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation  to  authorizing  absentee
          voting for religious observance

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 8-400  of  the  election  law,  as
     2  amended  by  chapter 63 of the laws of 2010 and paragraph (c) as amended
     3  by chapter 375 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
     4    1. A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this  chapter
     5  if,  on the occurrence of any village election conducted by the board of
     6  elections, primary election, special election, general election  or  New
     7  York  city  community  school  board  district or city of Buffalo school
     8  district election, [he or she] such person expects to be:
     9    (a) absent from the county of [his or her] residence, or, if  a  resi-
    10  dent of the city of New York absent from said city; or
    11    (b)  unable  to appear personally at the polling place of the election
    12  district in which [he or she] such person is a qualified  voter  because
    13  of  illness or physical disability or duties related to the primary care
    14  of one or more individuals  who  are  ill  or  physically  disabled,  or
    15  because  [he  or she] such person will be or is a patient in a hospital;
    16  or
    17    (c) a resident or patient of a veterans health  administration  hospi-
    18  tal; or
    19    (d)  absent  from  [his  or her] their voting residence because [he or
    20  she] such person is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury  or
    21  awaiting  trial, or confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an
    22  offense other than a felony, provided that [he or she]  such  person  is
    23  qualified to vote in the election district of [his or her] residence[.];
    24  or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02980-01-5
        A. 2358                             2

     1    (e)  unable  to appear personally at the polling place of the election
     2  district in which such person is a qualified voter because  of  a  reli-
     3  gious observance or practice.
     4    § 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2026 and shall apply to any
     5  general, primary, run-off primary, or special election held thereafter.