STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4499 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 16, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. EPSTEIN -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the election law and the correction law, in relation to enabling persons charged with or convicted of a crime to register to vote and to vote; to amend the New York city charter, in relation to making conforming changes; to repeal subdivision 5 of section 8-504 of the election law relating to voter challenges at polling places; and to repeal subdivisions 10 of section 1057-a of the New York city char- ter relating to notice of voter rights The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The election law is amended by adding a new section 8-409 2 to read as follows: 3 § 8-409. Voting by incarcerated persons. 1. Any person incarcerated in 4 a state or local correctional facility, as defined in section two of the 5 correction law, shall be entitled to vote by absentee ballot as provided 6 in section seventy-five of the correction law. 7 2. All ballots cast pursuant to this section and section seventy-five 8 of the correction law shall be cast in the manner provided by this chap- 9 ter for the casting of absentee ballots. 10 3. All ballots cast pursuant to the provisions of this section and 11 section seventy-five of the correction law which are received before 12 the close of the polls on election day by the board of elections charged 13 with the duty of casting and canvassing such ballots, may be 14 delivered to the inspectors of election in the manner prescribed by this 15 chapter or retained at the board of elections and cast and canvassed 16 pursuant to the provisions of section 9-209 of this chapter. 17 § 2. Section 75 of the correction law, as amended by chapter 103 of 18 the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows: 19 § 75. [Notice of voting] Voting rights. [Prior to the release from a] 20 1. Upon the admission of an incarcerated individual to a state or local EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08655-01-3
A. 4499 2 1 correctional facility [of any person], the department shall notify such 2 [person verbally and in writing, that] incarcerated individual of his or 3 her voting rights [will be restored upon release and provide such person 4 with a form of application for voter registration and a declination 5 form, offer such person assistance in filling out the appropriate form, 6 and provide such person written information distributed by the board of 7 elections on the importance and the mechanics of voting. Upon release, 8 such person may choose to either submit his or her completed application 9 to the state board or county board where such person resides or have the 10 department transmit it on his or her behalf. Where such person chooses 11 to have the department transmit the application, the department shall 12 transmit the completed application upon such person's release to the 13 state board or associated with an absentee ballot without interference. 14 county board where such person resides.] and, upon the request of such 15 incarcerated individual, provide such individual with a form of applica- 16 tion for voter registration together with written information distrib- 17 uted by the board of elections on the importance and mechanics of 18 voting, or with access to the electronic voter registration transmittal 19 system described in title five of article eight of the election law. The 20 superintendent of the correctional facility shall ensure that all 21 completed voter registrations are: 22 (a) properly and immediately submitted electronically to the applica- 23 ble board of elections if the electronic voter registration transmittal 24 system is utilized; or 25 (b) deposited with the United States Post Office within three days of 26 being filled out by an incarcerated individual if registration is 27 submitted on paper. 28 2. Each incarcerated individual who is qualified to vote and regis- 29 tered to vote may apply to his or her county board of elections for an 30 absentee ballot in the manner provided for by the mail provisions of 31 section 8-400 of the election law. There shall be a presumption that 32 incarcerated individuals are qualified to vote and registered to vote. 33 The superintendent of the correctional facility shall ensure that each 34 such application for an absentee ballot is deposited with the United 35 States Post Office within three days of being filled out by an incarcer- 36 ated individual. 37 3. Each absentee ballot received at the correctional facility shall be 38 delivered to the incarcerated individual to whom it is addressed 39 within two days of receipt at the correctional facility. The super- 40 intendent of the correctional facility shall ensure that each absentee 41 ballot is deposited with the United States Post Office within three days 42 of being filled out by the incarcerated individual to whom it has been 43 addressed. 44 4. Voter registrations, applications for absentee ballots and absentee 45 ballots shall be processed by the correctional facility separately from 46 other incarcerated individual mail. Notwithstanding any law, rule or 47 regulation to the contrary, no person shall open any correspondence 48 between an incarcerated individual and a board of elections, including 49 an incarcerated individual's voter registration, application for an 50 absentee ballot or filled out absentee ballot. Incarcerated individ- 51 uals shall be permitted to cast their votes privately and to seal all 52 envelopes associated with an absentee ballot without interference. 53 § 3. Section 5-106 of the election law, subdivisions 2, 3 and 4 as 54 amended by chapter 103 of the laws of 2021, subdivision 5 as amended by 55 chapter 234 of the laws of 1976 and subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 56 82 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
A. 4499 3 1 § 5-106. Qualifications of voters; reasons for exclusion. 2 1. No person who shall receive, accept, or offer to receive, or pay, 3 offer or promise to pay, contribute, offer or promise to contribute to 4 another, to be paid or used, any money or any other valuable thing as a 5 compensation or reward for the giving or withholding a vote at an 6 election, or for registering or refraining from registering as a voter, 7 or who shall make any promise to influence the giving or withholding of 8 any such vote or registration, or who shall make or become directly or 9 indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of 10 an election, shall vote at such election. 11 2. [No person who has been convicted of a felony and sentenced to a 12 period of imprisonment for such felony pursuant to the laws of this 13 state, shall have the right to register for or vote at any election 14 while he or she is incarcerated for such felony. 15 3. No person who has been convicted in a federal court, of a felony, 16 or a crime or offense which would constitute a felony under the laws of 17 this state, and sentenced to a period of imprisonment for such felony, 18 shall have the right to register for or vote at any election while he or 19 she is incarcerated for such felony. 20 4. No person who has been convicted in another state for a crime or 21 offense which would constitute a felony under the laws of this state and 22 sentenced to a period of imprisonment for such felony, shall have the 23 right to register for or vote at any election in this state while he or 24 she is incarcerated for such felony. 25 5. The provisions of subdivisions two, three and four of this section 26 shall not apply if the person so convicted is not sentenced to either 27 death or imprisonment, or if the execution of a sentence of imprisonment 28 is suspended. 29 6.] No person who has been adjudged incompetent by order of a court of 30 competent judicial authority shall have the right to register for or 31 vote at any election in this state unless thereafter he or she shall 32 have been adjudged competent pursuant to law. 33 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 5-210 of the election law, as amended by 34 chapter 765 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 35 3. Completed application forms, when received by any board of 36 elections and, with respect to application forms promulgated by the 37 federal election commission, when received by the state board of 38 elections, or showing a dated cancellation mark of the United States 39 Postal Service or contained in an envelope showing such a dated cancel- 40 lation mark which is not later than the fifteenth day before the next 41 ensuing primary, general or special election, and received no later than 42 the tenth day before such election, or delivered in person to such board 43 of elections not later than the tenth day before such election, shall 44 entitle the applicant to vote in such election, if he or she is other- 45 wise qualified, provided, however, such applicant shall not vote on a 46 voting machine until his or her identity is verified. Any board of 47 elections receiving an application form from a person who does not 48 reside in its jurisdiction but who does reside elsewhere in the state of 49 New York, shall forthwith forward such application form to the proper 50 board of elections; provided, however, that the residence of a person 51 incarcerated in a correctional facility, as defined in section two 52 of the correction law, or in a county jail, is not included in the 53 jurisdiction where a person is incarcerated unless such person had 54 resided in that jurisdiction prior to incarceration, and any such person 55 may apply to register to vote in the jurisdiction where that person has 56 previously established a fixed and principal home to which the person
A. 4499 4 1 intends to return. Each board of elections shall make an entry on each 2 such form of the date it is received by such board. 3 § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 5-400 of the election law, as amended by 4 chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, paragraph (a) as amended by chapter 3 5 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 6 1. A voter's registration, including the registration of a voter in 7 inactive status, shall be cancelled if, since the time of his or her 8 last registration, he or she: 9 (a) Moved his or her residence outside the state. 10 (b) [Was convicted of a felony disqualifying him from voting pursuant 11 to the provisions of section 5-106 of this article. 12 (c)] Has been adjudicated an incompetent. 13 [(d)] (c) Refused to take a challenge oath. 14 [(e)] (d) Has died. 15 [(f)] (e) Did not vote in any election conducted by the board of 16 elections during the period ending with the second general election at 17 which candidates for federal office are on the ballot after his or her 18 name was placed in inactive status and for whom the board of elections 19 did not, during such period, in any other way, receive any information 20 that such voter still resides in the same county or city. 21 [(g)] (f) Personally requested to have his or her name removed from 22 the list of registered voters. 23 [(h)] (g) For any other reason, is no longer qualified to vote as 24 provided in this chapter. 25 § 6. Paragraph b of subdivision 4 of section 5-708 of the election 26 law, as added by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as 27 follows: 28 b. The state board shall arrange such notices and the names received 29 pursuant to the other provisions of this section by county of residence 30 and transmit such notices [and any notices of conviction for a felony 31 received from a United States attorney] to the appropriate board of 32 elections. 33 § 7. Subdivision 3 of section 7-123 of the election law, as amended by 34 chapter 104 of the laws of 2010, and the opening paragraph as amended by 35 chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 36 3. There shall be three envelopes for each military absentee ballot 37 issued when the military voter's preferred method of transmission is by 38 mail: the inner affirmation envelope into which a voter places his or 39 her voted ballot, the outer envelope which shall be addressed to the 40 absentee voter, and the mailing envelope which is addressed to the coun- 41 ty board of elections. The board of elections shall furnish an inner 42 affirmation envelope with each military ballot upon which envelope shall 43 be printed: 44 BALLOT FOR MILITARY VOTER 45 AFFIRMATION 46 I swear or affirm that: 47 (a) I am a member of the uniformed services or merchant marine on 48 active duty or an eligible spouse, parent, child or dependent of such a 49 member, and 50 (b) I am a United States citizen, at least eighteen years of age (or 51 will be by the day of the election), eligible to vote in the requested 52 jurisdiction, and
A. 4499 5 1 (c) I have [neither been convicted of a felony or other disqualifying 2 offense nor] not been adjudicated mentally incompetent, or if so, my 3 voting rights have been reinstated, and 4 (d) I am not registering, requesting a ballot, or voting in any other 5 jurisdiction in the United States, and 6 (e) My signature and date below indicate when I completed this docu- 7 ment, and 8 (f) The information on this form is true and complete to the best of 9 my knowledge. 10 I understand that a material misstatement of fact in the completion of 11 this document may constitute grounds for conviction of a crime. 12 Date .......... 20.... 13 ................................ 14 Signature or mark of voter 15 ................................ 16 Signature of Witness (required 17 only if voter does not sign his 18 or her own name) 19 ................................ 20 Address of Witness 21 § 8. Subdivision 2 of section 7-124 of the election law, as amended by 22 chapter 104 of the laws of 2010, and the opening and closing paragraphs 23 as amended by chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as 24 follows: 25 2. There shall be three envelopes for each special federal absentee 26 ballot issued by mail: the inner affirmation envelope into which a voter 27 places his or her voted ballot, the outer envelope which shall be 28 addressed to the absentee voter, and the mailing envelope which is 29 addressed to the county board of elections. The board of elections shall 30 furnish an inner affirmation envelope with each special federal ballot 31 upon which envelope shall be printed: 32 I swear or affirm that: 33 (a) I am a United States citizen residing outside the United States, 34 and 35 (b) I am at least eighteen years of age (or will be by the day of the 36 election), eligible to vote in the requested jurisdiction, and 37 (c) I have [neither been convicted of a felony or other disqualifying 38 offense nor] not been adjudicated mentally incompetent, or if so, my 39 voting rights have been reinstated, and 40 (d) I am not qualified to register, request a ballot, or vote in any 41 other jurisdiction in the United States, and 42 (e) My signature and date below indicate when I completed this docu- 43 ment, and 44 (f) The information on this form is true and complete to the best of 45 my knowledge. 46 I understand that a material misstatement of fact in the completion of 47 this document may constitute grounds for conviction of a crime. 48 Date.................20..... ..................................... 49 Signature or mark of voter 50 ..................................... 51 Signature of Witness (required only 52 if voter does not sign his or her own
A. 4499 6 1 name) 2 ..................................... 3 Address of Witness 4 § 9. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 8-400 of the election 5 law, as amended by chapter 63 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as 6 follows: 7 (d) absent from his or her voting residence because he or she is 8 detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or 9 confined in jail or prison after a conviction [for an offense other than 10 a felony], provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election 11 district of his or her residence. 12 § 10. Subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section 13 8-400 of the election law, as amended by chapter 63 of the laws of 14 2010, is amended to read as follows: 15 (iv) detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting 16 trial or confined in jail or prison after a conviction [for an offense 17 other than a felony] and stating the place where he or she is so 18 detained or confined. 19 § 11. Subdivision 5 of section 8-504 of the election law is REPEALED. 20 § 12. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 and subparagraph (iv) of para- 21 graph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 15-120 of the election law, para- 22 graph (d) of subdivision 1 as amended and subparagraph (iv) of paragraph 23 (c) of subdivision 4 as added by chapter 289 of the laws of 2014, are 24 amended to read as follows: 25 (d) absent from his or her voting residence because he or she is 26 detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or 27 confined in jail or prison [after a conviction for an offense other than 28 a felony], provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election 29 district of his or her residence. 30 (iv) detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting 31 trial or confined in jail or prison [after a conviction for an offense 32 other than a felony] and stating the place where he or she is so 33 detained or confined. 34 § 13. Subdivisions 10 of section 1057-a of the New York city charter 35 are REPEALED. 36 § 14. The opening paragraph of section 1057-a of the New York city 37 charter, as amended by local law number 80 of the city of New York for 38 the year 2020, is amended to read as follows: 39 Each agency designated as a participating agency under the provisions 40 of this section shall implement and administer a program of distribution 41 of voter registration forms pursuant to the provisions of this section. 42 The following offices are hereby designated as participating voter 43 registration agencies: The administration for children's services, the 44 business integrity commission, the city clerk, the civilian complaint 45 review board, the commission on human rights, community boards, the 46 department of small business services, the department for the aging, the 47 department of citywide administrative services, the department of city 48 planning, the department of consumer and worker protection, the depart- 49 ment of correction, the department of cultural affairs, the department 50 of environmental protection, the department of finance, the department 51 of health and mental hygiene, the department of homeless services, the 52 department of housing preservation and development, the department of 53 parks and recreation, the department of probation, the department of 54 records and information services, the taxi and limousine commission, the
A. 4499 7 1 department of transportation, the department of youth and community 2 development, the fire department, and the human resources adminis- 3 tration. Participating agencies shall include a mandate in all new or 4 renewed agreements with those subcontractors having regular contact with 5 the public in the daily administration of their business to follow the 6 guidelines of this section. Such participating agencies shall be 7 required to offer voter registration forms to all persons together with 8 written applications for services, renewal or recertification for 9 services and change of address relating to such services, in the same 10 language as such application, renewal, recertification or change of 11 address form where practicable; provided however that this section shall 12 not apply to services that must be provided to prevent actual or poten- 13 tial danger to the life, health, or safety of any individual or of the 14 public. Such agencies shall provide assistance to applicants in complet- 15 ing voter registration forms, including the section of the form allowing 16 for registration to become an organ donor, and in cases in which such an 17 agency would provide assistance with its own form, such agency shall 18 provide the same degree of assistance with regard to the voter registra- 19 tion and organ donor forms as is provided with regard to the completion 20 of its own form, if so requested. [As part of such assistance, such 21 agencies shall also, upon request by an applicant who identifies himself 22 or herself as being on parole and when practically feasible, check 23 publicly available information to inform such applicant if a restoration 24 of their right to vote has been granted, provided that such assistance 25 may be provided by a person other than the person to whom the request 26 was made and further provided that such assistance shall not be consid- 27 ered an endorsement of the accuracy of any publicly available informa- 28 tion not maintained by the city.] Such agencies shall also receive and 29 transmit the completed application form from any applicants who request 30 to have such form transmitted to the board of elections for the city of 31 New York. 32 § 15. The state board of elections is directed to revise all paperwork 33 utilized for voter registration, and for the process of applying for and 34 voting by absentee ballot to remove all references to felonies or the 35 limitation of the right to vote due to conviction of a felony. 36 § 16. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 37 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, 38 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces- 39 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 40 authorized to be made and completed on or before such date.