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

                                  9404

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 6, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. BENJAMIN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Election Law

AN  ACT  to  amend  the  election  law,  in relation to removing certain
  requirements for absentee voting and to repeal certain  provisions  of
  such law relating thereto

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

  Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 8-400 of the election  law,
the  opening paragraph of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 359 of the
laws of 1989, paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 as amended by  chapter  426
of  the  laws  of  2009,  and  the opening paragraph of subdivision 2 as
amended by chapter 216 of the laws of 1988, paragraph (a) of subdivision
2 as amended by chapter 263 of the laws of 1991, paragraph (c) of subdi-
vision 2 as amended by chapter 321 of the laws of 1988 and paragraph (d)
of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 165 of  the  laws  of  2009,  are
amended to read as follows:
  1.  A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this chapter
if[, on the occurrence of any village election conducted by the board of
elections, primary election, special election, general election  or  New
York  city  community  school  board  district or city of Buffalo school
district election, he will be:
  (a) unavoidably absent from the county of  his  residence,  or,  if  a
resident  of  the  city  of  New York absent from said city, because his
duties, occupation, business, or studies require him to be elsewhere  on
the day of election; or
  (b)  absent  from  such county or city because he is on vacation else-
where on the day of election; or
  (c) unable to appear personally at the polling place of  the  election
district  in  which he or she is a qualified voter because of illness or
physical disability, whether permanent or temporary, or  duties  related
to the primary care of one or more individuals who are ill or physically
disabled, or because he or she will be or is a patient in a hospital; or
  (d)  he  is  a  person  entitled to a ballot because he is a qualified
voter registered as an inmate or patient of a  veteran's  administration
hospital; or
              

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD14784-01-9

A. 9404                             2

  (e)  absent  from the county of his residence, or if a resident of the
city of New York, absent from said city, because of his  accompanying  a
spouse,  parent or child who would be entitled to apply for the right to
vote by absentee ballot if a qualified voter; or
  (f)  absent  from  his voting residence because he is detained in jail
awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or confined in prison
after a conviction for an offense other than a felony, provided that  he
is  qualified  to  vote in the election district of his residence] HE OR
SHE REQUESTS AN APPLICATION FOR AN ABSENTEE  BALLOT  ON  A  FORM  TO  BE
OBTAINED  AND FILED AS PROVIDED HEREIN OR BY LETTER AS PROVIDED IN PARA-
GRAPH (D) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION.
  2. A qualified voter desiring to vote at such election as an  absentee
voter  [for  any  reason  specified in subdivision one hereof] must make
application for an absentee ballot on a form to be obtained and filed as
provided herein or by letter as provided in paragraph (d) of this subdi-
vision.
  (a) Application forms shall be furnished by and may be  obtained  from
any  board  of elections at any time until the day before such election.
Application forms shall also be supplied by the board of  inspectors  of
the  election district in which applicant is a qualified 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 his 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
airmail.  Any  reference  to  "board  of  elections"  in  the  remaining
provisions  of  this  section, except with respect to the furnishing and
obtaining of applications for absentee ballots, means only the board  of
elections  of  the  county or city in which the applicant is a qualified
voter.
  (b) Applications may be filed either with the board of elections or in
person with the board of inspectors of the election  district  in  which
the  applicant  is  a  qualified  voter, on one of the days provided for
local registration.
  (c) All applications must be mailed to  the  board  of  elections  not
later  than  the  seventh  day before the election for which a ballot is
first requested or delivered to such board not later than the day before
such election.
  (d) The board of elections shall mail  an  absentee  ballot  to  every
qualified  voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests such
an absentee ballot from such board of elections in a  letter,  which  is
signed  by  the voter and received by the board of elections not earlier
than the thirtieth day  nor  later  than  the  seventh  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; provided, however, a military voter may request
a military ballot in a  letter  as  provided  in  subdivision  three  of
section  10-106 of this chapter; and provided further, a special federal
voter may request a special federal ballot in a letter  as  provided  in
paragraph  d  of  subdivision one of section 11-202 of this chapter. The
board of elections shall enclose with such ballot a form of  application
for absentee ballot.
  S  2.  Paragraphs  (c)  and  (d) of subdivision 3 and subdivision 4 of
section 8-400 of the election law are REPEALED.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.