NY State Senate Bill 2009-S6021

Senate Bill S6021

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Allows a military voter to apply for a military ballot by facsimile transmission or electronic mail; extends time for receipt of special federal and military ballots

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 19, 2009	referred to rules

2009-S6021 (ACTIVE) - Details

See other versions of this Bill:: S5595 ,; S60444 ,; S65097 ,; A8376 ,
Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§8-400, 9-209, 10-106, 10-114, 11-202 & 11-212, El L; amd §4, Chap 237 of 2005

2009-S6021 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Allows a military voter to apply for a military ballot by facsimile transmission or electronic mail; extends time for receipt of special federal and military ballots; makes permanent certain provisions relating to military and special federal ballots.

2009-S6021 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6021

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the election law, in relation to military voting, and
to amend chapter 237 of the laws of 2005 amending the election law
relating to military voting, in relation to making such provisions
permanent


 PURPOSE :

This bill would make permanent a current law affecting military voters
that would otherwise expire December 31, 2009, to make it easier for
both military and other overseas voters to apply for and obtain a
paper ballot for primary, general and special elections and to expand
the time frame for returning such ballots.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill amends Election Law § 8-400(2)(d) to provide
that military voters and other overseas voters may request a paper
ballot as allowed in subsequent sections of the bill, i.e. by
facsimile transmission or electronic mail.

Section 2 of the bill amends Election Law § 9-209(a) to allow boards

of elections to fix a time for casting and canvassing paper ballots no
more than fourteen days after a general or special election and no
more than eight days after a primary election.

Section 3 of the bill adds a new subdivision 3 to Election Law §
10-106 to provide that a military voter may apply for a military
ballot by facsimile transmission pursuant to the Uniformed and
Overseas Citizens absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) or by electronic mail.

Section 4 of the bill amends Election Law § 10-114(1) to provide that
a military ballot will be counted if a) it is postmarked or dated and
witnessed no later than the day before the election and b) it is
received by the board of elections no later than seven days following
a primary election or thirteen days following a general or special
election.

Section 5 of the bill adds a new paragraph d to election law §
11202(1) to provide that an overseas voter may apply for a special
federal ballot by facsimile transmission pursuant to the UOCAVA or by
electronic mail.

Section 6 of the bill amends election law § 11-212 to provide that a
special federal ballot cast by an overseas voter will be counted if a)
it is postmarked or endorsed by a United States government agency no
later than the day before the election and b) it is received by the
board of elections no later than seven days following a primary
election or thirteen days following a general or special election.

Section 7 of the bill amends section 4 of chapter 237 of the laws of
2005 to repeal the sunset provision and make that chapter's provisions
permanent.

Section 8 of the bill provides the effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :

Chapter 237 of the laws of 2005 allows military voters to sign their
ballot envelopes before a witness rather than obtain a postmark and
extends the time frame for receipt of such ballots by the board of
election to 13 days after a general election. This law contained a
sunset provision and has been reenacted each year since 2005. It is
set to expire on December 31, 2009.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :

UOCAVA was enacted in 1986 to promote the opportunity for military and
other overseas voters to timely apply for and obtain paper ballots
that will be cast and counted. In 2001, the United States General
Accounting Office estimated that UOCAVA covered 6.1 million citizens,
including 2.7 million active military personnel and their relatives.
Among military personnel who reported not voting in 2004, 30 percent
said they were not able to vote because their ballots never arrived or
arrived too late. According to the United States Election Assistance
Commission, in 2006, only 26.5 percent of the roughly 1 million
absentee ballots requested by military and overseas Americans were
cast and counted.

In early 2009, the Unites State Senate Rules and Administration
Committee, chaired by Senator Charles Schumer of New York, surveyed
election offices in seven states having high numbers of military
personnel (California, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas,
Washington and West Virginia) with the assistance of the Congressional
Research Service. The survey found that of the 441,000 absentee
ballots requested by eligible voters living abroad in 2008, one
quarter had not been counted because they were lost, returned as
"undeliverable" or rejected for various reasons. The Pew Center on the
States recently issued a report titled No Time to Vote:  Challenges
Facing America's Overseas Military Voters. The report concluded that
16 states, or approximately one-third do not provide enough time for
military and overseas voters to complete the absentee ballot process,
The report suggested changes to the election law for each state that
would promote the timely receipt of paper ballots by military and
overseas voters.

New York State has tried to address this issue since 2005. In order to
promote voting by military personnel, New York enacted a law that
allows military voters to sign their ballot envelopes before a witness
rather than obtain a postmark and extended the time frame for receipt
of such ballots by the board of elections to 13 days after a general
election. This law contained a sunset provision and has been reenacted
each year since 2005. It is set to expire on December 31, 2009. This
bill is an attempt to further promote voting by military and other
overseas voters.

Two of the Pew Center's suggestions for New York are contained in
chapter 237 of the laws of 2005 law and would be made permanent by
this bill. In addition, this bill adopts additional Pew Center
suggestions, extends all of the changes to overseas voters in addition
to military voters and allows additional time for receipt of the
completed ballot after special elections for the first time.

Extending the time to receive military and other overseas ballots will
better ensure that no American living overseas will be disenfranchised
in New York because of the distance and time it takes to send mail
from the far corners of the world.

 BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :

None to the state. The federal government provides a toll free
facsimile number for use by military and overseas federal voters.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately upon enactment.

2009-S6021 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  6021

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 19, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of the Governor) -- read
  twice  and  ordered  printed,  and when printed to be committed to the
  Committee on Rules

AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to military voting, and to
  amend chapter 237 of the laws of 2005 amending the election law relat-
  ing to military voting, in relation to making such  provisions  perma-
  nent

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

  Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 2  of  section  8-400  of  the
election law, as added by chapter 216 of the laws of 1988, is amended to
read as follows:
  (d)  The  board  of  elections  shall mail an absentee ballot to every
qualified voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests  such
an  absentee  ballot  from such board of elections in a letter, which is
signed by the voter and received by the board of elections  not  earlier
than  the  thirtieth  day  nor  later  than  the  seventh day before the
election for which the ballot is first requested and  which  states  the
address  where  the  voter  is  registered  and the address to which the
ballot is to be mailed; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, A MILITARY VOTER MAY  REQUEST
A  MILITARY  BALLOT  IN  A  LETTER  AS  PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF
SECTION 10-106 OF THIS CHAPTER; AND PROVIDED FURTHER, A SPECIAL  FEDERAL
VOTER  MAY  REQUEST  A SPECIAL FEDERAL BALLOT IN A LETTER AS PROVIDED IN
PARAGRAPH D OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 11-202 OF THIS CHAPTER.    The
board  of elections shall enclose with such ballot a form of application
for absentee ballot.
  S 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section  9-209  of  the  election
law,  as  amended by chapter 237 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read
as follows:
  a. The board of elections  shall  designate  itself  or  such  of  its
employees  as  it shall deem appropriate as a set of poll clerks to cast

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD12100-01-9

S. 6021                             2

and canvass such ballots, and fix a time and place for their meeting for
such purpose, provided that such meeting shall be no  more  than  [thir-
teen] FOURTEEN days after a general OR SPECIAL election and no more than
eight  days  after a [special or] primary election at which such ballots
are voted. The board may designate additional sets of poll clerks and if
it designates more than one such set shall apportion among all such sets
the election districts from  which  such  ballots  have  been  received,
provided  that all such ballots from a single election district shall be
assigned to a single set of clerks, and that  each  such  set  shall  be
divided  equally  between  representatives  of  the  two major political
parties. Each such set of clerks shall be  deemed  a  central  board  of
inspectors for purposes of this section.
  S  3.  Section  10-106  of the election law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 3 to read as follows:
  3. A MILITARY VOTER MAY APPLY  FOR  A  MILITARY  BALLOT  BY  FACSIMILE
TRANSMISSION  PURSUANT  TO  THE UNIFORMED AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS ABSENTEE
VOTING ACT OR ELECTRONIC MAIL.
  S 4. Subdivision 1 of section 10-114 of the election law,  as  amended
by chapter 237 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
  1. The board of elections shall cause all military ballots received by
it  before  the  close  of  the  polls  on  election day and all ballots
contained in envelopes showing a cancellation mark of the United  States
postal service or a foreign country's postal service, or showing a dated
endorsement of receipt by another agency of the United States government
or  are  signed  and  dated by the voter and one witness thereto, with a
date which is ascertained to be not later than the day  before  election
and  received  by  such  board  of  elections  not later than seven days
following the day of a primary [or special] election and not later  than
thirteen  days  following the day of a general OR SPECIAL election to be
cast and counted.
  S 5. Subdivision 1 of section 11-202 of the election law is amended by
adding a new paragraph d to read as follows:
  D. A SPECIAL FEDERAL VOTER MAY APPLY FOR A SPECIAL FEDERAL  BALLOT  BY
FACSIMILE  TRANSMISSION  PURSUANT TO THE UNIFORMED AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS
ABSENTEE VOTING ACT OR ELECTRONIC MAIL.
  S 6. Section 11-212 of the election law, as amended by chapter 155  of
the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
  S  11-212. Special federal ballots; deadline for receipt, and delivery
to polling place.  All special federal ballots received by the board  of
elections before the close of the polls on election day may be delivered
to  the  inspectors  of  the  election districts in which the voters are
registered, in the  manner  prescribed  by  this  chapter  for  absentee
ballots,  or  retained  by the board of elections and cast and canvassed
pursuant to section 9-209 of this chapter as the board of elections,  in
its  discretion,  shall  determine by resolution adopted at least thirty
days before election day. All ballots contained in envelopes  showing  a
cancellation mark of the United States postal service or a foreign coun-
try's  postal  service,  or  showing  a  dated endorsement of receipt by
another agency of the United States government, with  a  date  which  is
ascertained  to be not later than the day before election, shall be cast
and counted if received by the board of elections not later  than  seven
days  following the day of A PRIMARY election OR THIRTEEN DAYS FOLLOWING
THE DAY OF A GENERAL OR SPECIAL ELECTION except that the special federal
ballot of a voter who requested  such  ballot  by  letter,  rather  than
application,  shall  not  be  counted  unless  a valid application form,
signed by such voter, is received by the board of  elections  with  such

S. 6021                             3

ballot. All ballots received by the board of elections [between election
day  and  the  seventh  day after election day] and all federal write-in
ballots received from special federal voters NOT LATER THAN  SEVEN  DAYS
FOLLOWING  THE  DAY OF A PRIMARY ELECTION OR THIRTEEN DAYS FOLLOWING THE
DAY OF A GENERAL OR SPECIAL ELECTION, shall be retained at the board and
shall be cast and canvassed in the same manner as other ballots retained
by such board.
  S 7. Section 4 of chapter  237  of  the  laws  of  2005  amending  the
election  law  relating to military voting, as amended by chapter 188 of
the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately [and shall expire December
31, 2009; when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed
repealed].
  S 8. This act shall take effect immediately.

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