S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  3549

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 27, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. PERRY, KAVANAGH -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
  HOOPER,  HOYT, ORTIZ, SCARBOROUGH, WRIGHT -- read once and referred to
  the Committee on Election Law

AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the notice of the  days
  and hours for voting in primary and general elections

  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  659  of  the  laws  of 1994, is amended to read as
follows:
  1. The board of elections, not less than   sixty-five  days  nor  more
than  seventy  days before the day of the general election in each year,
shall send by first class mail on which is endorsed "ADDRESS  CORRECTION
REQUESTED"  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
OF  AT LEAST SIXTEEN POINT FONT CONTAINED IN SUCH NOTICE of the days and
hours of the ensuing primary and general elections, the place  where  he
appears  by his 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  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 location of the
polling place for the voter's election  district  has  been  moved,  the

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01821-01-9
              

A. 3549                             2

communication  shall  contain  the  following legend in bold type: "YOUR
POLLING PLACE HAS BEEN CHANGED.  YOU NOW VOTE AT..........". The  commu-
nication  shall also indicate 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 phys-
ically 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 appli-
cations to move a registration record or for  absentee  ballot  applica-
tions,  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.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the first of December next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.