NY State Senate Bill 2009-S1835

Senate Bill S1835

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Allows absentee voting for persons unable to vote due to duties, occupation, business, personal matters or studies

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to elections
Feb 09, 2009	referred to elections

2009-S1835 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A658
Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §8-400, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S544, A4742
2013-2014: S2252, S6534, A2105
2015-2016: S873, A5601
2017-2018: S1659
2019-2020: S145

2009-S1835 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Allows absentee voting for persons unable to vote due to duties, occupation, business, personal matters or studies; no agent may collect more than 15 ballots except with approval of two inspectors representing different political parties.

2009-S1835 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1835

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the election law, in relation to absentee voting
qualifications


 PURPOSE :

Allows absentee voting for persons unable to vote due to duties,
occupation, business, personal matters or studies.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Extend absentee voting rights to any individual who for any reason is
unable to vote in person; includes the category of "matters" in the
list of acceptable reasons for absentee voting; eliminates the
requirement that an individual applying for an absentee ballot be
required to file a statement regarding the nature and reasons of their
absence from the county of his or her residence; provides that no
single agent may collect more than fifteen absentee ballots, except
upon application and approval of both commissioners.

 JUSTIFICATION :

By extending absentee voting rights to all individuals who are unable
to vote in person on election day, we are enabling more eligible
voters to vote in New York State and have that vote counted. This bill
helps to ensure that as many eligible voters as possible exercise
their right to vote on election day.

There are many instances where an individual voter may not be able to
vote, for any number of personal reasons, but may not fall within one
of the categories which exists in current law. This amendment would
eliminate this problem.  The existing application process is also
amended, as it would no longer require an individual voter to provide
a specific reason as to why they will be unable to vote in person on
election day.

This bill helps codify the main focus of HAVA to ensure that as many
people as possible are able to exercise their right to vote and do so
in an appropriate manner. By eliminating the requirement that an
individual provide an acceptable reason for their absence, the bill
also eliminates a pitfall as to why an otherwise eligible voter may be
deemed ineligible.

Additionally, this bill would limit the number of absentee ballots one
agent may collect to fifteen, unless otherwise approved by both
commissioners. This change eliminates the unseemly practice whereby
one individual is able to collect an unlimited number of absentee
ballots and turn them in. The potential for fraud in instances like
that is too great to risk for such an important matter as the right to
have your vote count.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2006 - S.2776 - Referred to Elections 2008 - S.2253 - Referred to
Elections; Notice of Petition Files

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

Negligible.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2009-S1835 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  1835

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 9, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KLEIN  -- 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 absentee voting  quali-
  fications

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 8-400 of  the  election  law,  the
opening  paragraph  as  amended  by  chapter 359 of the laws of 1989, is
amended and a new subdivision 10 is added to read as follows:
  1. A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this  chapter
if,  on the occurrence of any village election conducted by the board of
elections, primary election, special election, general election  or  New
York  city  community  school  board  district or city of Buffalo school
district election, he OR SHE will be[:
  (a) unavoidably absent from the county of  his  residence,  or,  if  a
resident  of  the  city  of New York absent from said city, because his]
UNABLE TO VOTE IN PERSON DUE TO duties, occupation,  business,  PERSONAL
MATTERS  or studies [require him to be elsewhere on the day of election;
or
  (b) absent from such county or city because he is  on  vacation  else-
where on the day of election; or
  (c)  unable  to appear personally at the polling place of the election
district in which he is a qualified voter because of illness or physical
disability, whether permanent or temporary, or because he will be or  is
a patient in a hospital; or
  (d)  he  is  a  person  entitled to a ballot because he is a qualified
voter registered as an inmate or patient of a  veteran's  administration
hospital; or
  (e)  absent  from the county of his residence, or if a resident of the
city of New York, absent from said city, because of his  accompanying  a

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01202-01-9

S. 1835                             2

spouse,  parent or child who would be entitled to apply for the right to
vote by absentee ballot if a qualified voter; or
  (f)  absent  from  his voting residence because he is detained in jail
awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or confined in prison
after a conviction for an offense other than a felony, provided that  he
is qualified to vote in the election district of his residence].
  10.  NO SINGLE AGENT SHALL COLLECT MORE THAN FIFTEEN ABSENTEE BALLOTS,
EXCEPT UPON APPLICATION AND  APPROVAL  OF  TWO  INSPECTORS  REPRESENTING
DIFFERENT POLITICAL PARTIES.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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