Senate Bill S4083

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

                                  4083

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              April 9, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  SCHNEIDERMAN, DIAZ, DUANE, FOLEY, SERRANO -- read
  twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
  Committee on Elections

AN  ACT to amend the election law, in relation to requiring the board of
  elections to provide a registered voter with a sample ballot prior  to
  an election

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 4-117 of the election law is amended  by  adding  a
new subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
  1-A.  THE  BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS,  NOT LESS THAN TEN DAYS NOR MORE THAN
TWENTY 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
SAMPLE BALLOT, AS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO SECTION 7-118 OF THIS CHAPTER, 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. THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED  TO
SEND  SUCH SAMPLE BALLOT TO VOTERS IN INACTIVE STATUS.  IN LIEU OF SEND-
ING SUCH COMMUNICATION WITH  SUCH  SAMPLE  BALLOT  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 COMMUNI-
CATION.
  S 2. Section 7-118 of the election law, as amended by chapter  157  of
the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
  S  7-118.  Ballots; facsimile and sample. The board of elections shall
provide facsimile and sample ballots which shall be arranged in the form
of a diagram showing such part of the face  of  the  voting  machine  as
shall  be  in  use  at  that election. Such facsimile and sample ballots

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02814-01-9
              

S. 4083                             2

shall be either in full or  reduced  size  and  shall  contain  suitable
illustrated directions for voting on the voting machine.  Such facsimile
ballots  shall  be  mounted  and displayed for public inspection at each
polling  place during election day. Sample ballots [may] SHALL be mailed
by the board of elections to each eligible voter [at least  three  days]
NOT  LESS  THAN TEN DAYS NOR MORE THAN TWENTY DAYS before the election[,
or in lieu thereof, a copy of such sample ballot  may  be  published  at
least  once within one week preceding the election in newspapers repres-
enting the major political parties]. One copy of such facsimile shall be
sent to each school in the  county,  providing  the  ninth  through  the
twelfth  years  of  compulsory education, and in the city of New York to
each such school in the city of New York, at least one week before  each
general  election  for posting at a convenient place in such school. The
board of elections shall also send  a  facsimile  ballot  to  any  other
school requesting such a ballot.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the first of December next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.