S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9508
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 15, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. WALKER -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Election Law
 
 AN  ACT to amend the election law, in relation to requiring the board of
   elections to mail notice of ensuing primary and general elections  and
   registration information to active voters between the third Tuesday in
   April and the second Friday in May each year

   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  200  of  the  laws  of 2020, is amended to read as
 follows:
   1. The board of elections, [not less than  sixty-five  days  nor  more
 than seventy days before the primary election] BETWEEN THE THIRD TUESDAY
 IN  APRIL  AND THE SECOND FRIDAY IN MAY in each year, shall send by mail
 on which is endorsed such language designated  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 in
 bold print contained in such notice of the days and hours of the ensuing
 primary and general elections, the place where he or she appears by  his
 or  her  registration  records to be entitled to vote, and also in other
 than bold type of the fact that voters who have moved or will have moved
 from the address where they were last registered must either notify  the
 board  of elections of his or her new address or vote by paper ballot at
 the polling place for his or her 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15015-01-2
 A. 9508                             2
 
 conspicuous notice in all capital letters and bold  font  notifying  the
 voter  of the 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: "YOUR POLLING PLACE HAS BEEN
 CHANGED. YOU NOW VOTE AT..........". The communication shall also  indi-
 cate  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.