Senate Bill S9521

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to absentee ballots for school district elections due to a religious commitment

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education 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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2023-S9521 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Education
Law Section:
Education Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §§2018-a & 2018-b, Ed L

2023-S9521 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to absentee ballots for school district elections due to a religious commitment or following such applicant's religious teaching or tenet that forbids secular activity on that day.

2023-S9521 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S9521 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9521
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAYER  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to absentee  ballots  for
   school district elections due to a religious commitment
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Paragraphs a and c of subdivision 2 of  section  2018-a  of
 the  education  law,  paragraph a as amended and paragraph c as added by
 chapter 616 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as follows:
   a. A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this  section
 if  during  all the hours of voting on the day of an election [he or she
 will] SUCH VOTER EXPECTS TO be:
   (1) absent from [the] THEIR county of [his or her] residence; or
   (2) unable to appear at the polling place because of illness or  phys-
 ical  disability,  or  duties related to the primary care of one or more
 individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or because [he  or  she]
 SUCH VOTER will be or is a patient in a hospital; or
   (3)  an  [inmate]  INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL  or patient of a veteran's
 administration hospital; or
   (4) absent from [his or her] SUCH VOTER'S voting residence because [he
 or she] SUCH VOTER 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] SUCH VOTER  is
 qualified  to vote in the election district of [his or her] SUCH VOTER'S
 residence[.]; OR
   (5) UNABLE TO BE PRESENT DUE TO SUCH VOTER'S OBSERVANCE OF A RELIGIOUS
 COMMITMENT OR FOLLOWING SUCH VOTER'S RELIGIOUS TEACHING  OR  TENET  THAT
 FORBIDS SECULAR ACTIVITY ON THAT DAY.
   c.  The  application for an absentee ballot when filed must contain in
 each instance the following information:
   (1) Applicant's full name,  date  of  birth,  and  residence  address,
 including  the  street and number, if any, rural delivery route, if any,
 mailing address if different from the residence address and  an  address
 to which the ballot shall be mailed.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

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