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.