STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6848--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 8, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD, GUNTHER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Educa- tion in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- 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. LBD10767-03-4
A. 6848--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
A. 6848--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 ...........................
A. 6848--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.