Bill Text: NY S08552 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires the board of elections to mail notice of ensuing primary and general elections, registration status, polling place location and other information to active voters between the third Tuesday in April and the second Friday in May each year.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-31 - SUBSTITUTED BY A9508 [S08552 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S08552-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8552

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 11, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- 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 requiring the board  of
          elections  to mail notice of ensuing primary and general elections and
          registration information to active voters between the third Tuesday in
          April and the second Friday in May each year

          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 4-117 of the election law, as
     2  amended by chapter 200 of the laws  of  2020,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    1.  The  board  of  elections, [not less than sixty-five days nor more
     5  than seventy days before the primary election] between the third Tuesday
     6  in April and the second Friday in May in each year, shall send  by  mail
     7  on  which  is  endorsed  such  language designated by the state board of
     8  elections to ensure postal authorities do  not  forward  such  mail  but
     9  return it to the board of elections with forwarding information, when it
    10  cannot  be  delivered as addressed and which contains a request that any
    11  such mail received for persons not residing at the  address  be  dropped
    12  back in the mail, a communication, in a form approved by the state board
    13  of  elections, to every registered voter who has been registered without
    14  a change of address since the beginning of such year,  except  that  the
    15  board  of elections shall not be required to send such communications to
    16  voters in inactive status. The communication shall notify the  voter  in
    17  bold print contained in such notice of the days and hours of the ensuing
    18  primary  and general elections, the place where he or she appears by his
    19  or her registration records to be entitled to vote, and  also  in  other
    20  than bold type of the fact that voters who have moved or will have moved
    21  from  the address where they were last registered must either notify the
    22  board of elections of his or her new address or vote by paper ballot  at
    23  the  polling place for his or her new address even if such voter has not
    24  re-registered, or otherwise notified  the  board  of  elections  of  the
    25  change  of address. If the primary will not be held on the first Tuesday
    26  after the second Monday in September, the communication shall contain  a

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15015-01-2
        S. 8552                             2

     1  conspicuous  notice  in  all capital letters and bold font notifying the
     2  voter of the primary date. If the location of the polling place for  the
     3  voter's  election  district  has  been  moved,  the  communication shall
     4  contain  the following legend in bold type: "YOUR POLLING PLACE HAS BEEN
     5  CHANGED. YOU NOW VOTE AT..........". The communication shall also  indi-
     6  cate  whether  the  polling  place  is accessible to physically disabled
     7  voters, that a voter who will be out of the city or county on the day of
     8  the primary or general election or a voter  who  is  ill  or  physically
     9  disabled may obtain an absentee ballot, that a physically disabled voter
    10  whose  polling place is not accessible may request that his registration
    11  record be moved to an election district which has a polling place  which
    12  is  accessible,  the  phone  number  to  call for applications to move a
    13  registration record or  for  absentee  ballot  applications,  the  phone
    14  number  to call for the location of registration and polling places, the
    15  phone number to call to indicate that the voter is willing to  serve  on
    16  election  day  as  an  election inspector, poll clerk, interpreter or in
    17  other capacities, the phone number to call to obtain an application  for
    18  registration   by  mail,  and  such  other  information  concerning  the
    19  elections or registration as the board may include. In lieu  of  sending
    20  such communication to every registered voter, the board of elections may
    21  send  a  single  communication  to  a household containing more than one
    22  registered voter, provided that the names of all such voters  appear  as
    23  part of the address on such communication.
    24    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.