Assembly Bill A2481A

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

                                 2481--A

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 16, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. PRETLOW, CLARK, GALEF, JOHN, WEINSTEIN -- Multi-
  Sponsored by -- M. of A. DINOWITZ, GOTTFRIED, ORTIZ, PHEFFER  --  read
  once  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Election Law -- committee
  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
  to said committee

AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to checks  of  registrants
  and information notice by mail

  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 section 40 of 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] BETWEEN
AUGUST FIRST AND AUGUST FIFTH OF 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 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, 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 noti-
fied the board of elections of the change of address. If the location of

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01584-02-9
              

A. 2481--A                          2

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 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 immediately.