NY State Senate Bill 2017-S1659

Senate Bill S1659

2017-2018 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 03, 2018	referred to elections
Jan 10, 2017	referred to elections

2017-S1659 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §8-400, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S1835
2011-2012: S544
2013-2014: S2252, S6534
2015-2016: S873
2019-2020: S145

2017-S1659 (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.

2017-S1659 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1659

 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 :

Section I. Amends subdivision 1 of section 8-400 of the election law
and adds a new subdivision 11 to 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.

Section 2. Effective date.

 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 :

2015-16: S873A/A5601A - Elections/Election Law
2013-14: S6534/A2105 - Elections/Election Law

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
Negligible.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2017-S1659 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1659
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 10, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. CARLUCCI -- 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,  as
 amended  by  chapter 63 of the laws of 2010, paragraph (c) as amended by
 chapter 375 of the laws of 2015, is amended and a new subdivision 11  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 expects to be[:
   (a)  absent from the county of his or her residence, or, if a resident
 of the city of New York absent from said city; or
   (b) unable to appear personally at the polling place of  the  election
 district  in  which he or she is a qualified voter because of illness or
 physical disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more
 individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or  because  he  or  she
 will be or is a patient in a hospital; or
   (c)  a  resident or patient of a veterans health administration hospi-
 tal; or
   (d) absent from his or her voting  residence  because  he  or  she  is
 detained  in  jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or
 confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other  than
 a  felony,  provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election
 district of his or her residence]  UNABLE  TO  VOTE  IN  PERSON  DUE  TO
 DUTIES, OCCUPATION, BUSINESS, PERSONAL MATTERS OR STUDIES.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01568-01-7

 S. 1659                             2
 
   11.  NO SINGLE AGENT SHALL COLLECT MORE THAN FIFTEEN ABSENTEE BALLOTS,
 EXCEPT UPON APPLICATION AND  APPROVAL  OF  TWO  INSPECTORS  REPRESENTING
 DIFFERENT POLITICAL PARTIES.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall have become a law.  Effective immediately, any rules and regu-
 lations necessary to implement the provisions of this act on its  effec-
 tive date are authorized to be made before such effective date.

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