S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8720
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              October 5, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Election Law
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the election law, in relation to the font of polling
   location notices
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section 4-117 of the election law, as
 amended by chapter 44 of the  laws  of  2016,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  The  board  of elections, between August first and August fifth of
 each year, shall send by mail on which is endorsed such language  desig-
 nated  by  the  state board of elections to ensure postal authorities do
 not forward such mail but return it  to  the  board  of  elections  with
 forwarding  information,  when  it  cannot be delivered as addressed and
 which contains a request that any such mail  received  for  persons  not
 residing at the address be dropped back in the mail, a communication, in
 a  form  approved  by  the state board of elections, to every registered
 voter who has been registered without a  change  of  address  since  the
 beginning  of such year, except that the board of elections shall not be
 required to send such communications to voters in inactive  status.  The
 communication  shall notify the voter of the days and hours of the ensu-
 ing primary and general elections, the place where  he  appears  by  his
 registration  records  to  be entitled to vote, the fact that voters who
 have moved or will have moved from the  address  where  they  were  last
 registered must re-register or, that if such move was to another address
 in  the same county or city, that such voter may either notify the board
 of elections of his new address or vote by paper ballot at  the  polling
 place  for  his new address even if such voter has not re-registered, or
 otherwise notified the board of elections of the change of  address.  If
 the  location of the polling place for the voter's election district has
 been moved, the communication shall contain the following legend in bold

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

                                                            LBD13536-01-7

 A. 8720                             2
 
 [type] PRINT OF AT LEAST SIXTEEN POINT FONT:   "YOUR POLLING  PLACE  HAS
 BEEN  CHANGED. YOU NOW VOTE AT..........".  The communication shall also
 indicate whether the polling place is accessible to physically  disabled
 voters, that a voter who will be out of the city or county on the day of
 the  primary  or  general  election  or a voter who is ill or physically
 disabled may obtain an absentee ballot, that a physically disabled voter
 whose polling place is not accessible may request that his  registration
 record  be moved to an election district which has a polling place which
 is accessible, the phone number to  call  for  applications  to  move  a
 registration  record  or  for  absentee  ballot  applications, the phone
 number to call for the location of registration and polling places,  the
 phone  number  to call to indicate that the voter is willing to serve on
 election day as an election inspector, poll  clerk,  interpreter  or  in
 other  capacities, the phone number to call to obtain an application for
 registration  by  mail,  and  such  other  information  concerning   the
 elections  or  registration as the board may include. In lieu of sending
 such communication to every registered voter, the board of elections may
 send a single communication to a  household  containing  more  than  one
 registered  voter,  provided that the names of all such voters appear as
 part of the address on such communication.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.