§ 8-700. Early voting by mail; application for ballot. 1. A registered
voter may apply to the county board of elections in the county in which
they are registered, or to the board of elections of the city of New
York, if registered in the city of New York, to vote early by mail under
this title in any election conducted by the board of elections in which
the voter is eligible to vote.

2. A registered voter who desires to vote early by mail at an election
must make an application to vote early by mail on a form to be obtained
and filed as provided in this section, by letter as provided in
paragraph (d) of this subdivision, or through the electronic early mail
ballot application transmittal system pursuant to section 8-706 of this
title.

(a) Application forms to vote early by mail shall be furnished by and
may be obtained from any board of elections at any time until the day
before such election, or on the electronic early mail ballot application
transmittal system. Application forms shall also be supplied by the
board of inspectors of the election district in which the applicant is a
registered voter on all of the days provided for local registration. In
addition, application forms shall be supplied upon the request of the
person authorized to vote pursuant to this section, any such person's
spouse, parent or child, a person residing with the applicant as a
member of their household, or the applicant's duly authorized agent.
Application forms sent outside of the United States to a country other
than Canada or Mexico, shall be sent by airmail. Any reference to "board
of elections" in the remaining provisions of this section, except with
respect to the furnishing and obtaining of applications to vote early by
mail, means only the board of elections of the county or city in which
the applicant is a registered voter.

(b) Applications may be filed with the board of elections, through the
electronic early mail ballot application transmittal system or in person
with the board of inspectors of the election district in which the
applicant is a registered voter on one of the days provided for local
registration.

(c) All applications requesting to vote early by mail transmitted by
mail or through the electronic early mail ballot application transmittal
system must be received by the board of elections not later than the
tenth day before the election for which a ballot is first requested.
Applications to vote early by mail delivered in person at the board of
elections must be received by such board not later than the day before
such election.

(d) The board of elections shall mail an early mail ballot to every
registered voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests such
an early mail ballot from such board of elections in writing in a
letter, telefax indicating the address, phone number and the telefax
number from which the writing is sent or other written instrument, or
through an electronic application submitted by the voter through the
electronic early mail ballot application transmittal system established
by the state board of elections, which is signed by the voter and
received by the board of elections not later than the tenth day before
the election for which the ballot is first requested and which states
the address where the voter is registered and the address to which the
ballot is to be mailed.

(e) When mailing an early mail ballot application to a voter the board
of elections shall provide a domestic postage paid return envelope. When
providing an early mail ballot application to a voter in-person, the
board of elections shall offer the voter a domestic postage paid return
envelope and provide one if requested.

3. The application for an early mail ballot when filed must contain in
each instance the following information:

(a) 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 their town
or city and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed.

(b) A statement that the applicant is a registered voter in the county
or city where they are applying to vote early by mail.

4. The application for an early mail ballot shall also provide the
applicant the opportunity to provide their telephone number and e-mail
address.

5. The application for an early mail ballot shall also provide the
applicant the opportunity to request to receive an early mail ballot for
all remaining elections in the calendar year in which the applicant is
eligible to vote. If an applicant indicates in the application for an
early mail ballot that they wish to receive an early mail ballot for all
remaining elections in the calendar year, upon filing of such
application, the board of elections shall indicate such request in the
voter's registration record. When early mail ballots are mailed for
subsequent elections in the calendar year in which the voter is eligible
to vote, the board of elections shall mail an early mail ballot to the
voter at their last known address by first class mail with a request to
the postal authorities not to forward such ballot but to return it in
five days in the event that it cannot be delivered to the addressee.
However, the board shall not be required to mail an early mail ballot
pursuant to this section if the voter's registration has been canceled
since the filing of such application.

6. The application for an early mail ballot shall contain the
following language printed in bold face directly above the signature
line: "I CERTIFY THAT THE INFORMATION IN THIS APPLICATION IS TRUE AND
CORRECT AND UNDERSTAND THAT THIS APPLICATION WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR ALL
PURPOSES AS THE EQUIVALENT OF AN AFFIDAVIT AND, IF IT CONTAINS A
MATERIAL FALSE STATEMENT, SHALL SUBJECT ME TO THE SAME PENALTIES AS IF I
HAD BEEN DULY SWORN." Such application shall be accepted for all
purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit and if it contains a material
false statement shall subject the person signing it to the same
penalties as if he or she had been duly sworn.

7. For purposes of this section, the use of titles, initials or
customary abbreviations of given names by the signers or witnesses of an
early mail ballot application or early mail ballot envelope, or the use
of customary abbreviations of addresses of such signers or witnesses,
shall not invalidate such voter's signature or witness's signature on an
application for early mail ballot or upon canvass or recanvass of the
ballot pursuant to this chapter.

8. (a) If a person entitled to an early mail ballot is unable to sign
their application because of illness, physical disability or inability
to read, they shall be excused from signing upon making a statement, in
substantially the following form, which shall be witnessed by one
person:
"I hereby state that I am unable to sign my application for an early
mail ballot without assistance because I am unable to write by reason of
illness or physical disability or because I am unable to read. I have
made, or have received assistance in making, my mark in lieu of my
signature."
.................
(Date)

.................

(Mark)

.................

(Name of Voter)
"I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the above named voter affixed
their mark to this application in my presence and I know them to be the
person who affixed their mark to said application and understand that
this statement will be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an
affidavit and if it contains a material false statement, shall subject
me to the same penalties as if I had been duly sworn."

......................

(Signature of Witness)

......................

(Address of Witness)

(b) Such statement shall be included in the application form furnished
by the board of elections.

9. Printed forms of applications for early mail ballots in accordance
with the requirements of this section shall be provided by the board of
elections. An appropriate number shall be retained by the board of
elections for the purpose of furnishing an application form to each
registered voter who applies therefor before the board of elections,
either in person or by mail, and an appropriate number shall be
delivered to each board of inspectors on registration days with the
election supplies, and the board of inspectors shall retain the
completed and unused applications and return them to the board of
elections with their election supplies and an appropriate number shall
be available for distribution to officers of political parties, county
clerks, city, town and village clerks, colleges, libraries, and any
other convenient distribution source which is approved by the local or
state board of elections and which requests such forms.

10. The state board of elections shall prescribe a standard
application form for use under this section. The use of any application
form which substantially complies with the provisions of this section
shall be acceptable and any application filed on such a form shall be
accepted for filing.