S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                   3549
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 29, 2019
                                ___________
 
 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 3 of the laws of 2018, 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 primary will not be held on  the  first  Tuesday  after  the  second
 Monday  in  September,  the  communication  shall  contain a conspicuous
 notice in all capital letters and bold font notifying the voter  of  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD04007-01-9

 A. 3549                             2
 
 primary  date.  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 [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  accessi-
 ble  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  informa-
 tion  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.