S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10515
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 24, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. DenDekker)
   -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
 
 AN ACT in relation to authorizing absentee voting  during  the  declared
   state of emergency for COVID-19
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that
 the state of New York is in the midst of a natural disaster as a  result
 of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this crisis, on March
 2,  2020,  the  legislature  amended article 2-B of the executive law to
 expand the governor's emergency powers to address disasters caused by  a
 disease  outbreak. The governor signed the legislation into law the next
 day (chapter 23 of the laws of 2020). On March  7,  2020,  the  governor
 issued Executive Order 202, declaring a state disaster emergency for the
 entire  state of New York. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organiza-
 tion declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic. Three  days  later,  the
 President of the United States declared a national emergency under Proc-
 lamation 9994 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
   This  natural disaster, caused by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, has
 resulted in 361,515 COVID-19 positive cases, and 23,391 deaths since the
 first case was identified in New York on March  1,  2020.  The  COVID-19
 outbreak  has severely disrupted the health care system in New York city
 and threatens the statewide system as a whole. Facing  severe  shortages
 of  respiratory  ventilators  and personal protection equipment to treat
 critically ill patients, the governor took drastic  steps  to  slow  the
 exponential  growth  of  the deadly disease. These steps include, in the
 interest of preserving life and  public  health,  a  policy  of  "social
 distancing,"  including  avoiding  gatherings  of more than 10 people to
 prevent the spread of COVID-19. This has also included  the  closure  of
 all but essential businesses statewide, the closure of schools, colleges
 and  universities  statewide,  and  the postponement of the presidential
 primary from April 28 to June 23, 2020.
   The legislature further finds that open elections  are  essential  for
 democracy  and to the orderly continuation of New York's state and local
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD16514-01-0

 A. 10515                            2
 
 governmental operations.  All state legislative seats  in  the  assembly
 and senate are up for election this year and the threat of contagion and
 the  necessary  policy of social distancing could drastically affect the
 willingness  of  the  citizenry  to  vote  in person in the midst of the
 pandemic. In order to facilitate the  participation  of  voters  in  the
 elections  that  will  decide  who  takes office on January 1, 2021, the
 legislature finds that it is necessary to allow all voters to  vote  via
 an  absentee  ballot  due to the risk of exposure to the deadly COVID-19
 coronavirus.
   § 2. Absentee voting. Notwithstanding section 2 of article II  of  the
 constitution of the state of New York, in order to insure the continuity
 of  state  and local governmental operations in this period of emergency
 due to the natural disaster created by the COVID-19 worldwide  pandemic,
 the legislature uses its constitutional authority pursuant to section 25
 of article III of the constitution of the state of New York to authorize
 all registered voters who are entitled to vote in an election during the
 declared COVID-19 state emergency to request, receive and cast an absen-
 tee  ballot due to the risk of exposure to the deadly COVID-19 coronavi-
 rus. Such ballots shall be canvassed  and  counted  if  otherwise  valid
 pursuant to the election law and related executive orders.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.