Senate Bill S46

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

                                   46

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 9, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. PERALTA -- 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.
              

                                                           LBD01225-01-3

S. 46                               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.