Bill Text: NY S07229 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Clarifies valid reasons to obtain an absentee ballot for elections in school districts which do not utilize poll registration.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-04 - referred to education [S07229 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07229-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7229--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 18, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  MAYER, CHU -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education  --  recom-
          mitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6,
          sec.  8  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to absentee  ballots  for
          school district elections

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

     1    Section 1. Paragraphs a and c of subdivision 2 of  section  2018-a  of
     2  the  education  law,  paragraph a as amended and paragraph c as added by
     3  chapter 616 of the laws of 2019, are amended 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] occurrence of an
     6  election [he or she will] such voter expects to be:
     7    (1) absent from [the] their county of [his or her] residence; or
     8    (2) unable to appear  personally  at  the  polling  place  because  of
     9  illness or physical disability, or duties related to the primary care of
    10  one  or  more individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or because
    11  [he or she] such voter will be or is a patient in a hospital; or
    12    (3) [an inmate] a resident or patient of  a  veteran's  administration
    13  hospital; or
    14    (4) absent from [his or her] such voter's voting residence because [he
    15  or  she]  such voter is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury
    16  or awaiting trial, or confined in jail or prison after a conviction  for
    17  an  offense other than a felony, provided that [he or she] such voter is
    18  qualified to vote in the election district of [his or her]  such voter's
    19  residence.
    20    c. The application for an absentee ballot when filed must  contain  in
    21  each instance the following information:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10767-02-4
        S. 7229--A                          2

     1    (1)  Applicant's  full  name,  date  of  birth, and residence address,
     2  including the street and number, if any, rural delivery route,  if  any,
     3  mailing  address  if different from the residence address and an address
     4  to which the ballot shall be mailed.
     5    (2)  A  statement  that  the  applicant  is a qualified and registered
     6  voter.
     7    (3) A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election  the
     8  applicant  expects  in  good faith to be in one of the following catego-
     9  ries:
    10    (a) absent  from  [the]  their  county  of  [his  or  her]  residence;
    11  provided, however, if the applicant expects to be absent from such coun-
    12  ty  for a duration covering more than one election and seeks an absentee
    13  ballot for each election, [he or she] such  applicant  shall  state  the
    14  dates  when  [he  or  she  expects]  they  expect  to begin and end such
    15  absence; or
    16    (b) unable to appear at a polling place because of illness or physical
    17  disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more individ-
    18  uals who are ill or physically disabled; or
    19    (c) [an inmate] a resident or patient of  a  veteran's  administration
    20  hospital; or
    21    (d) detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial
    22  or  confined  in  jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other
    23  than a felony and stating the place where [he or she] such applicant  is
    24  so detained or confined.
    25    §  2. Subdivision 2 of section 2018-b of the education law, as amended
    26  by chapter 46 of the laws of 1992, paragraph c as amended by chapter  26
    27  of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
    28    2.  a. An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an appli-
    29  cation setting forth:
    30    (1) [his] such applicant's full name,  date  of  birth  and  residence
    31  address,  including  the  street  and  number, if any, or town and rural
    32  delivery route, if any, mailing address if different from the  residence
    33  address and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed;
    34    (2)  that  [he] such applicant is or will be, on the day of the school
    35  district election, a qualified voter of the school district [in which he
    36  resides in that he is or will be, on such date, over eighteen  years  of
    37  age,  a citizen of the United States and has or will have resided in the
    38  district for thirty days next preceding such date];
    39    (3) [that he will be unable to appear to vote in person on the day  of
    40  the  school district election for which the absentee ballot is requested
    41  because he is, or will be on such day] a statement, as appropriate, that
    42  on the day of such election the applicant expects in good faith to be in
    43  one of the following categories:
    44    (a) a resident or patient in a hospital, including a veteran's  admin-
    45  istration  hospital, or unable to appear personally at the polling place
    46  on such day because of illness or physical disability, or duties related
    47  to the primary care of one or more individuals who are ill or physically
    48  disabled; or
    49    (b) [because his duties, occupation, business, or studies will require
    50  him to be outside of the county or city of his residence on  such  day,]
    51  absent from the county of such applicant's residence; provided, however,
    52  if  the  applicant  expects to be absent from such county for a duration
    53  covering more than one election and seeks an absentee  ballot  for  each
    54  election, such applicant shall state the dates when they expect to begin
    55  and end such absence; or
        S. 7229--A                          3

     1    (c)  [because he will be on vacation outside the county or city of his
     2  residence on such day; or,
     3    (d)  absent  from his voting residence because he is] detained in jail
     4  awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial or  [is]  confined  in
     5  jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other than a felony and
     6  stating  the  place  where  such  applicant  is so detained or confined.
     7  [Such application must be received by the district clerk or designee  of
     8  the  trustees or school board at least seven days before the election if
     9  the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the election,
    10  if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter.]
    11    b. [(1) Where such duties, occupation, business,  or  studies  are  of
    12  such a nature as ordinarily to require such absence, a brief description
    13  of  such  duties, occupation, business, or studies shall be set forth in
    14  such application.
    15    (2) Where such duties, occupation, business, or  studies  are  not  of
    16  such  a  nature  as ordinarily to require such absence, such application
    17  shall contain a statement of the special  circumstances  on  account  of
    18  which  such  absence  is required.] Such application must be received by
    19  the district clerk or designee of the trustees or school board at  least
    20  seven  days  before  the  election  if the ballot is to be mailed to the
    21  voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be  delivered
    22  personally to the voter.
    23    c.  [Where the applicant expects in good faith to be absent on the day
    24  of the election because he will be on vacation elsewhere  on  such  day,
    25  such  application  shall also contain the dates upon which he expects to
    26  begin and end such vacation, the place or places where he expects to  be
    27  on  such  vacation, the name and address of his employer, if any, and if
    28  self-employed or retired, a statement to that effect.
    29    d. Where the absence is because of detention or confinement  to  jail,
    30  such  application  shall  state  whether  the voter is detained awaiting
    31  action of the grand jury or is confined after conviction for an  offense
    32  other than a felony.
    33    e.  Where a person is or would be, if he were a qualified voter, enti-
    34  tled to apply for the  right  to  vote  by  absentee  ballot  under  the
    35  provisions  of this section, his spouse, parent or child, if a qualified
    36  voter and a resident of the same school district, shall be  entitled  to
    37  vote as an absentee voter upon personally making and signing an applica-
    38  tion in accordance with the preceding provisions of this subdivision and
    39  showing that he expects to be absent from the school district on the day
    40  of  the school district election by reason of accompanying or being with
    41  the spouse, child or parent who is or would be, if he were  a  qualified
    42  voter,  so  entitled  to apply for the right to vote by absentee ballot,
    43  and, in the event no application  is  made  by  such  spouse,  child  or
    44  parent,  such further information as the clerk of the school district or
    45  designee of the trustees or school board shall require.
    46    f.] Such application shall  include  the  following  statement  to  be
    47  signed by the voter.

    48    I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
    49  my  knowledge  and  belief, and I understand that if I make any material
    50  false statement in the foregoing statement of application  for  absentee
    51  ballots, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

    52  Date...................   Signature of Voter ...........................
        S. 7229--A                          4

     1    [g.] d. The clerk of the school district or a designee of the trustees
     2  or  school  board  shall  request  registration  lists from the board of
     3  elections pursuant to subdivision three of section 5-612 of the election
     4  law for those voters whose registration record has been  marked  "perma-
     5  nently disabled". An applicant whose ability to appear personally at the
     6  polling  place  of the school district of which [he] such applicant is a
     7  qualified voter is substantially impaired by reason of permanent illness
     8  or physical disability and whose registration  record  has  been  marked
     9  "permanently  disabled" as determined by the board of elections pursuant
    10  to the provisions of this chapter and who has previously applied for  an
    11  absentee ballot shall be entitled to receive subsequent absentee ballots
    12  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  this  section without making separate
    13  application for such absentee  ballot,  and  the  clerk  of  the  school
    14  district  or  a  designee  of the trustees or school board shall send an
    15  absentee ballot to such voter at [his] such voter's last  known  address
    16  with  a  request  to  the  postal authorities not to forward same but to
    17  return same in five days in the event that it cannot be delivered to the
    18  addressee. The clerk of the school district or a designee of  the  trus-
    19  tees  or  school board shall determine whether such ballot shall be sent
    20  by first class or by certified mail. All such ballots shall be mailed in
    21  the same manner as determined by the trustees or the board of education.
    22    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.