NY State Senate Bill 2019-S8917A

Senate Bill S8917A

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to the time period during which absentee ballots shall be mailed or delivered after an application for such ballot is received by the board of elections

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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Aug 26, 2020	print number 8917a
Aug 26, 2020	amend and recommit to rules
Aug 14, 2020	referred to rules

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2019-S8917 - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §8-406, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S516
2023-2024: S1501

2019-S8917 - Summary

Relates to the time period during which absentee ballots shall be mailed or delivered after an application for such ballot is received by the board of elections.

2019-S8917 - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8917

SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to the time period during
which absentee ballots shall be mailed or delivered after an application
for such ballot is received by the board of elections

 
PURPOSE:

This bill establishes a sliding scale of mandatory turnaround timeframes
for the processing of absentee ballot applications and ballot issuance
by boards of elections.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends Election Law 8-406 to establish in law
fixed timeframes for when absentee ballots must be mailed or delivered
to voters. No such requirement exists under current law.

Under the proposal, mailing or delivery of an absentee ballot must occur
no later than 46 days before the day of the election if the application
was received at least 60 days beforehand.

If the application is received by a board of elections after the sixti-
eth day before an election but no later than the thirtieth day before
such election then such mailing or delivery of the ballot must occur
within four days of receipt.

If the application is received by a board of elections after the thirti-
eth day before an election but no later than the fifteenth day before
such election then mailing or delivery of the ballot must occur within
three days of receipt.

If the application is received by the board of elections after the
fifteenth day before an election then mailing or delivery of the ballot
must occur within two days of receiving the application.

Section two of the bill is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Recently the legislature conducted a joint hearing to review the 2020
June primary election held during the COVID-19 pandemic and how to
improve election administration for the November general election.  One
of the issues raised in testimony was the fact that voters have no way
to check whether their absentee ballot application has been processed in
a timely manner, and as such, no way to know when to expect receiving a
ballot back in the mail. This is an especially important problem to
resolve during the COVID-19 pandemic considering the volume of voters
who are new to voting by absentee ballot. More than 1.7 million absentee
ballots were requested for the 2020 June primary in New York State and
as of July 1, nearly 1 million of those ballots had been returned. In
the 2016 presidential primary, only 115,000 absentee ballots were
returned. An even higher volume of absentee ballots are expected to be
requested for a predictably higher-turnout, presidential-year election
in November.

This proposal would establish clear deadlines for the processing of this
critical information so voters know how long it may take to receive a
ballot based on when they specifically applied to vote absentee.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S8917 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8917
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              August 14, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. GIANARIS -- 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 the time period  during
   which  absentee ballots shall be mailed or delivered after an applica-
   tion for such ballot is received by the board of elections
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  8-406 of the election law, as amended by chapter
 296 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
   § 8-406. Absentee ballots, delivery of. If the board shall  find  that
 the  applicant  is a qualified voter of the election district containing
 his OR HER residence as stated in his OR HER statement and that  his  OR
 HER  statement  is sufficient, it shall, as soon as practicable after it
 shall have determined his OR HER right thereto, mail to him OR HER at an
 address designated by him OR HER, or deliver to him OR HER,  or  to  any
 person  designated  for  such  purpose  in writing by him OR HER, at the
 office of the board, such an absentee voter's ballot or set  of  ballots
 and  an envelope therefor. SUCH MAILING OR DELIVERY SHALL OCCUR NO LATER
 THAN THE FORTY-SIXTH DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE ELECTION IF THE  APPLICA-
 TION WAS RECEIVED BY THE BOARD AT LEAST SIXTY DAYS BEFORE THE DAY OF THE
 ELECTION;  AND  IF  THE  APPLICATION WAS RECEIVED BY THE BOARD AFTER THE
 SIXTIETH DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE ELECTION, BUT NO LATER THAN THE THIR-
 TIETH DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE ELECTION, THE BOARD SHALL MAIL OR DELIV-
 ER THE ABSENTEE BALLOT WITHIN FOUR DAYS OF RECEIVING THE ABSENTEE BALLOT
 APPLICATION; AND IF THE APPLICATION WAS RECEIVED BY THE BOARD AFTER  THE
 THIRTIETH  DAY  BEFORE  THE  DAY  OF THE ELECTION, BUT NO LATER THAN THE
 FIFTEENTH DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE ELECTION, THE BOARD  SHALL  MAIL  OR
 DELIVER  THE ABSENTEE BALLOT WITHIN THREE DAYS OF RECEIVING THE ABSENTEE
 BALLOT APPLICATION; AND IF THE APPLICATION WAS  RECEIVED  BY  THE  BOARD
 AFTER  THE FIFTEENTH DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE ELECTION, THE BOARD SHALL
 MAIL OR DELIVER THE ABSENTEE BALLOT WITHIN TWO  DAYS  OF  RECEIVING  THE
 ABSENTEE  BALLOT  APPLICATION.  If  the ballot or ballots are to be sent
 outside of the United States to a country other than Canada  or  Mexico,
 such  ballot or ballots shall be sent by air mail. However, if an appli-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD17123-03-0

 S. 8917                             2

 cant who is eligible for an absentee ballot is a resident of a  facility
 operated or licensed by, or under the jurisdiction of, the department of
 mental hygiene, or a resident of a facility defined as a nursing home or
 residential  health care facility pursuant to subdivisions two and three
 of section two thousand eight hundred one of the public health law, or a
 resident of a hospital or  other  facility  operated  by  the  Veteran's
 Administration of the United States, such absentee ballot need not be so
 mailed  or  delivered to any such applicant but, may be delivered to the
 voter in the manner prescribed by section 8-407 of this chapter if  such
 facility  is located in the county or city in which such voter is eligi-
 ble to vote.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S8917A (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §8-406, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S516
2023-2024: S1501

2019-S8917A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the time period during which absentee ballots shall be mailed or delivered after an application for such ballot is received by the board of elections.

2019-S8917A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8917a

SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to the time period during
which absentee ballots shall be mailed or delivered after an application
for such ballot is received by the board of elections

 
PURPOSE:

This bill establishes a sliding scale of mandatory turnaround timeframes
for the processing of absentee ballot applications and ballot issuance
by boards of elections.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends Election Law 8-406 to establish in law
fixed timeframes for when absentee ballots must be mailed or delivered
to voters. No such requirement exists under current law.

Under the proposal, mailing or delivery of an absentee ballot must occur
no later than 46 days before the day of the election if the application
was received at least 60 days beforehand.

If the application is received by a board of elections after the sixti-
eth day before an election but no later than the forty-sixth day before
such election then such mailing or delivery of the ballot must occur no
later than the forty-second day before the day of the election.

If the application is received by a board of elections after the forty-
sixth day before an election but no later than the thirtieth day before
such election then such mailing or delivery of the ballot must occur
within four days of receipt.

If the application is received by a board of elections after the thirti-
eth day before an election but no later than the fifteenth day before
such election then mailing or delivery of the ballot must occur within
three days of receipt.

If the application is received by the board of elections after the
fifteenth day before an election then mailing or delivery of the ballot
must occur within two days of receiving the application.

If the application is received timely postmarked by mail after the
seventh day before the day of the election, the board shall make every
reasonable effort to mail or deliver at the board of elections the
ballot on the day the application is received.

If the application is delivered in person after the seventh day before
the day of the election and no later than the day before the election,
the board shall make every reasonable effort to deliver at the board of
election on the day the application is received.

Section two of the bill is the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW: Click here

 
JUSTIFICATION:
Recently the legislature conducted a joint hearing to review the 2020
June primary election held during the COVID-19 pandemic and how to
improve election administration for the November general election.  One
of the issues raised in testimony was the fact that voters have no way
to check whether their absentee ballot application has been processed in
a timely manner, and as such, no way to know when to expect receiving a
ballot back in the mail. This is an especially important problem to
resolve during the COVID-19 pandemic considering the volume of voters
who are new to voting by absentee ballot. More than 1.7 million absentee
ballots were requested for the 2020 June primary in New York State and
as of July 1, nearly 1 million of those ballots had been returned. In
the 2016 presidential primary, only 115,000 absentee ballots were
returned. An even higher volume of absentee ballots are expected to be
requested for a predictably higher-turnout, presidential-year election
in November.

This proposal would establish clear deadlines for the processing of this
critical information so voters know how long it may take to receive a
ballot based on when they specifically applied to vote absentee.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S8917A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8917--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              August 14, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. GIANARIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Rules  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 AN  ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the time period during
   which absentee ballots shall be mailed or delivered after an  applica-
   tion for such ballot is received by the board of elections
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 8-406 of the election law, as  amended  by  chapter
 296 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
   §  8-406.  Absentee ballots, delivery of. If the board shall find that
 the applicant is a qualified voter of the election  district  containing
 his  OR  HER residence as stated in his OR HER statement and that his OR
 HER statement is sufficient, it shall, as soon as practicable  after  it
 shall have determined his OR HER right thereto, mail to him OR HER at an
 address  designated  by  him OR HER, or deliver to him OR HER, or to any
 person designated for such purpose in writing by  him  OR  HER,  at  the
 office  of  the board, such an absentee voter's ballot or set of ballots
 and an envelope therefor. SUCH MAILING  OR  DELIVERY  AT  THE  BOARD  OF
 ELECTIONS  SHALL  OCCUR NO LATER THAN THE FORTY-SIXTH DAY BEFORE THE DAY
 OF THE ELECTION IF THE APPLICATION WAS RECEIVED BY THE  BOARD  AT  LEAST
 SIXTY  DAYS  BEFORE  THE DAY OF THE ELECTION; AND IF THE APPLICATION WAS
 RECEIVED BY THE BOARD AFTER THE SIXTIETH  DAY  BEFORE  THE  DAY  OF  THE
 ELECTION,  BUT  NO  LATER THAN THE FORTY-SIXTH DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE
 ELECTION, THE BOARD SHALL MAIL OR DELIVER AT THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS  THE
 ABSENTEE BALLOT NO LATER THAN THE FORTY-SECOND DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE
 ELECTION;  AND  IF  THE  APPLICATION WAS RECEIVED BY THE BOARD AFTER THE
 FORTY-SIXTH DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE ELECTION, BUT NO  LATER  THAN  THE
 THIRTIETH  DAY  BEFORE  THE DAY OF THE ELECTION, THE BOARD SHALL MAIL OR
 DELIVER AT THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS THE ABSENTEE BALLOT WITHIN  FOUR  DAYS
 OF RECEIVING THE ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION; AND IF THE APPLICATION WAS
 RECEIVED  BY  THE  BOARD  AFTER  THE THIRTIETH DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE
 ELECTION, BUT NO LATER THAN THE FIFTEENTH DAY  BEFORE  THE  DAY  OF  THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD17123-04-0

 S. 8917--A                          2
 
 ELECTION,  THE BOARD SHALL MAIL OR DELIVER AT THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS THE
 ABSENTEE BALLOT WITHIN THREE  DAYS  OF  RECEIVING  THE  ABSENTEE  BALLOT
 APPLICATION;  AND IF THE APPLICATION WAS RECEIVED BY THE BOARD AFTER THE
 FIFTEENTH  DAY  BEFORE  THE  DAY  OF  THE ELECTION BUT NO LATER THAN THE
 SEVENTH DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE ELECTION,  THE  BOARD  SHALL  MAIL  OR
 DELIVER  AT  THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS THE ABSENTEE BALLOT WITHIN TWO  DAYS
 OF  RECEIVING  THE ABSENTEE  BALLOT APPLICATION; AND IF THE  APPLICATION
 WAS  RECEIVED TIMELY POSTMARKED BY MAIL AFTER THE SEVENTH DAY BEFORE THE
 DAY OF THE ELECTION, THE BOARD SHALL MAKE  EVERY  REASONABLE  EFFORT  TO
 MAIL  OR  DELIVER  AT  THE  BOARD OF ELECTIONS THE BALLOT ON THE DAY THE
 APPLICATION IS RECEIVED; AND IF THE APPLICATION WAS DELIVERED IN  PERSON
 AFTER  THE  SEVENTH DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF THE ELECTION AND NO LATER THAN
 THE DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION,  THE  BOARD  SHALL  MAKE  EVERY  REASONABLE
 EFFORT  TO  DELIVER  THE BALLOT AT THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS ON THE DAY THE
 APPLICATION IS RECEIVED. If the ballot or ballots are to be sent outside
 of the United States to a country other  than  Canada  or  Mexico,  such
 ballot  or  ballots  shall be sent by air mail. However, if an applicant
 who is eligible for an absentee ballot is a resident of a facility oper-
 ated or licensed by, or under the jurisdiction  of,  the  department  of
 mental hygiene, or a resident of a facility defined as a nursing home or
 residential  health care facility pursuant to subdivisions two and three
 of section two thousand eight hundred one of the public health law, or a
 resident of a hospital or  other  facility  operated  by  the  Veteran's
 Administration of the United States, such absentee ballot need not be so
 mailed  or  delivered to any such applicant but, may be delivered to the
 voter in the manner prescribed by section 8-407 of this chapter if  such
 facility  is located in the county or city in which such voter is eligi-
 ble to vote.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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