S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
     S. 2038--A                                            A. 1922--A
     Cal. No. 127
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                       S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 18, 2019
                                ___________
 
 IN  SENATE  --  Introduced  by  Sen.  CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Educa-
   tion  --  reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and
   second report,  ordered  to  a  third  reading,  amended  and  ordered
   reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
 
 IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. GALEF, PAULIN, ORTIZ, SCHIMMINGER,
   JAFFEE,  OTIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CAHILL, COLTON, DINOW-
   ITZ, FINCH, GIGLIO, GOTTFRIED,  GUNTHER,  LIFTON,  McDONOUGH,  RIVERA,
   THIELE  --  read  once  and  referred to the Committee on Education --
   committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
   recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  education  law, in relation to applications for
   absentee ballots for school district elections
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  2 of section 2018-a of the education law, as
 added by chapter 219 of the laws of 1978, paragraphs a and b as  amended
 by chapter 136 of the laws of 1991, paragraph c as amended by chapter 26
 of the laws of 1994, paragraph d as amended by chapter 72 of the laws of
 1988  and  paragraph g as amended by chapter 825 of the laws of 1984, is
 amended to read as follows:
   2. a. [An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an appli-
 cation setting forth (1) his name and residence address,  including  the
 street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any; (2)
 that  he  is  or  will be, on the day of the school district election, a
 qualified voter of the school district in which he resides in that he is
 or will be, on such date, over eighteen years of age, a citizen  of  the
 United  States  and  has or will have resided in the district for thirty
 days next preceding such date; (3)  whether  he  is  registered  in  the
 district;  (4) that he will be unable to appear to vote in person on the

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00244-02-9

 S. 2038--A                          2                         A. 1922--A

 day of the school district election for which  the  absentee  ballot  is
 requested  because  he  is,  or  will  be on such day (a) a patient in a
 hospital, or unable to appear personally at the polling  place  on  such
 day because of illness or physical disability or (b) because his duties,
 occupation,  business,  or studies will require him to be outside of the
 county or city of his residence on such day, (c) because he will  be  on
 vacation  outside  the  county or city of his residence on such day; or,
 (d) absent from his voting residence because  he  is  detained  in  jail
 awaiting  action  by  a  grand  jury or awaiting trial or is confined in
 prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony. Such  appli-
 cation must be received by the district clerk at least seven days before
 the  election  if  the  ballot  is to be mailed to the voter, or the day
 before the election, if the ballot is to be delivered personally to  the
 voter.
   b. (1) Where such duties, occupation, business, or studies are of such
 a  nature  as ordinarily to require such absence, a brief description of
 such duties, occupation, business, or studies shall be set forth in such
 application. (2) Where such duties, occupation, business, or studies are
 not of such a nature as ordinarily to require such absence, such  appli-
 cation shall contain a statement of the special circumstances on account
 of which such absence is required.
   c.  Where  the applicant expects in good faith to be absent on the day
 of the election because he will be on vacation elsewhere  on  such  day,
 such  application  shall also contain the dates upon which he expects to
 begin and end such vacation, the place or places where he expects to  be
 on  such  vacation, the name and address of his employer, if any, and if
 self-employed or retired, a statement to that effect.
   d. Where the absence is because of detention or confinement  to  jail,
 such  application  shall  state  whether  the voter is detained awaiting
 action of the grand jury or is confined after conviction for an  offense
 other than a felony.
   e.  Where a person is or would be, if he were a qualified voter, enti-
 tled  to  apply  for  the  right  to  vote  by absentee ballot under the
 provisions of this section, his spouse, parent or child, if a  qualified
 voter  and  a resident of the same school district, shall be entitled to
 vote as an absentee voter upon personally making and signing an applica-
 tion in accordance with the preceding provisions of this subdivision and
 showing that he expects to be absent from the school district on the day
 of the school district election by reason of accompanying or being  with
 the  spouse,  child or parent who is or would be, if he were a qualified
 voter, so entitled to apply for the right to vote  by  absentee  ballot,
 and,  in  the  event  no  application  is  made by such spouse, child or
 parent, such further information as  the  board  of  registration  shall
 require.
   f]  A QUALIFIED VOTER MAY VOTE AS AN ABSENTEE VOTER UNDER THIS SECTION
 IF DURING ALL THE HOURS OF VOTING ON THE DAY OF AN ELECTION  HE  OR  SHE
 WILL BE:
   (1) ABSENT FROM THE COUNTY OF HIS OR HER RESIDENCE; OR
   (2)  UNABLE TO APPEAR AT THE POLLING PLACE BECAUSE OF ILLNESS OR PHYS-
 ICAL DISABILITY, 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
   (3) AN INMATE OR PATIENT OF A VETERAN'S ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL; OR
   (4) ABSENT FROM HIS OR HER VOTING  RESIDENCE  BECAUSE  HE  OR  SHE  IS
 DETAINED  IN  JAIL AWAITING ACTION BY A GRAND JURY OR AWAITING TRIAL, OR
 CONFINED IN JAIL OR PRISON AFTER A CONVICTION FOR AN OFFENSE OTHER  THAN

 S. 2038--A                          3                         A. 1922--A

 A  FELONY,  PROVIDED THAT HE OR SHE IS QUALIFIED TO VOTE IN THE ELECTION
 DISTRICT OF HIS OR HER RESIDENCE.
   B.  EACH PERSON ENTITLED TO VOTE AS AN ABSENTEE VOTER PURSUANT TO THIS
 SECTION AND DESIROUS OF OBTAINING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT SHALL MAKE  WRITTEN
 APPLICATION  THEREFOR  TO  THE DISTRICT CLERK. APPLICATION FORMS FOR USE
 PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE IN A  FORM  PRESCRIBED  BY  THE  STATE
 BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS.  THE  USE  OF  ANY  APPLICATION WHICH IS ON A FORM
 PRESCRIBED BY THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL BE ACCEPTABLE.
   C. THE APPLICATION FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT WHEN FILED MUST  CONTAIN  IN
 EACH INSTANCE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
   (1)  APPLICANT'S  FULL  NAME,  DATE  OF  BIRTH, AND RESIDENCE ADDRESS,
 INCLUDING THE STREET AND NUMBER, IF ANY, RURAL DELIVERY ROUTE,  IF  ANY,
 MAILING  ADDRESS  IF DIFFERENT FROM THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS AND AN ADDRESS
 TO WHICH THE BALLOT SHALL BE MAILED.
   (2) A STATEMENT THAT THE  APPLICANT  IS  A  QUALIFIED  AND  REGISTERED
 VOTER.
   (3)  A STATEMENT, AS APPROPRIATE, THAT ON THE DAY OF SUCH ELECTION THE
 APPLICANT EXPECTS IN GOOD FAITH TO BE IN ONE OF  THE  FOLLOWING  CATEGO-
 RIES:
   (A) ABSENT FROM THE COUNTY OF HIS OR HER RESIDENCE; PROVIDED, HOWEVER,
 IF  THE  APPLICANT  EXPECTS TO BE ABSENT FROM SUCH COUNTY FOR A DURATION
 COVERING MORE THAN ONE ELECTION AND SEEKS AN ABSENTEE  BALLOT  FOR  EACH
 ELECTION,  HE  OR  SHE  SHALL  STATE THE DATES WHEN HE OR SHE EXPECTS TO
 BEGIN AND END SUCH ABSENCE; OR
   (B) UNABLE TO APPEAR AT A POLLING PLACE BECAUSE OF ILLNESS OR PHYSICAL
 DISABILITY OR DUTIES RELATED TO THE PRIMARY CARE OF ONE OR MORE INDIVID-
 UALS WHO ARE ILL OR PHYSICALLY DISABLED; OR
   (C) AN INMATE OR PATIENT OF A VETERAN'S ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL; OR
   (D) DETAINED IN JAIL AWAITING ACTION BY A GRAND JURY OR AWAITING TRIAL
 OR CONFINED IN JAIL OR PRISON AFTER A CONVICTION FOR  AN  OFFENSE  OTHER
 THAN  A  FELONY  AND STATING THE PLACE WHERE HE OR SHE IS SO DETAINED OR
 CONFINED.
   D.   Such application shall include  the  following  statement  to  be
 signed by the voter.
   I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
 my  knowledge  and  belief, and I understand that if I make any material
 false statement in the foregoing statement of application  for  absentee
 ballots, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
 
   Date.....................Signature of Voter ..........................
 
   [g] E.  An applicant whose ability to appear personally at the polling
 place  of the school district of which he OR SHE is a qualified voter is
 substantially impaired by reason of permanent illness or physical  disa-
 bility  and whose registration record has been marked "permanently disa-
 bled" by the board of  elections  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the
 election law shall be entitled to receive an absentee ballot pursuant to
 the  provisions  of this section without making separate application for
 such absentee ballot, and the board of registration upon  being  advised
 by  the board of elections on or with the list of registered voters that
 the registration record of a  voter  is  marked  "permanently  disabled"
 shall  send  an  absentee  ballot to such voter at his OR HER last known
 address with a request to the postal authorities not to forward same but
 to return same in five days in the event that it cannot be delivered  to
 the  addressee.  The  board  of  education  shall determine whether such
 ballot shall be sent by first class  or  by  certified  mail.  All  such

 S. 2038--A                          4                         A. 1922--A
 
 ballots shall be mailed in the same manner as determined by the board of
 education.  The board of registration shall make an appropriate entry on
 the registration indicating the fact that an absentee  ballot  has  been
 sent and the date of mailing.
   F.  AN  APPLICATION  MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE DISTRICT CLERK NO EARLIER
 THAN THE THIRTIETH DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION FOR WHICH AN ABSENTEE  BALLOT
 IS  SOUGHT.  IF  THE  APPLICATION  REQUESTS  THAT THE ABSENTEE BALLOT BE
 MAILED, SUCH APPLICATION MUST BE RECEIVED  NOT  LATER  THAN  SEVEN  DAYS
 BEFORE  THE  ELECTION. IF THE APPLICANT OR HIS OR HER AGENT DELIVERS THE
 APPLICATION TO THE DISTRICT CLERK IN PERSON, SUCH  APPLICATION  MUST  BE
 RECEIVED  NOT LATER THAN THE DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION. THE DISTRICT CLERK
 SHALL EXAMINE EACH APPLICATION AND SHALL DETERMINE FROM THE  INFORMATION
 CONTAINED  THEREIN WHETHER THE APPLICANT IS QUALIFIED UNDER THIS SECTION
 TO RECEIVE AN ABSENTEE BALLOT.
   G. NO LATER THAN SIX DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION FOR WHICH AN APPLICATION
 HAS BEEN RECEIVED AND FOR WHICH THE DISTRICT CLERK  HAS  DETERMINED  THE
 APPLICANT  TO BE QUALIFIED TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT THE DISTRICT CLERK
 SHALL MAIL, BY REGULAR MAIL, AN ABSENTEE BALLOT TO EACH QUALIFIED APPLI-
 CANT WHO HAS APPLIED BEFORE SUCH DAY AND WHO  HAS  REQUESTED  THAT  SUCH
 ABSENTEE  BALLOT BE MAILED TO HIM OR HER AT THE ADDRESS SET FORTH IN HIS
 OR HER APPLICATION. IF THE APPLICANT OR HIS OR HER  AGENT  DELIVERS  THE
 APPLICATION TO THE DISTRICT CLERK IN PERSON AFTER THE SEVENTH DAY BEFORE
 THE  ELECTION  AND  NOT  LATER  THAN  THE  DAY  BEFORE THE ELECTION, THE
 DISTRICT CLERK SHALL FORTHWITH DELIVER SUCH ABSENTEE BALLOTS  FOR  THOSE
 APPLICANTS WHOM HE OR SHE DETERMINES ARE QUALIFIED TO MAKE SUCH APPLICA-
 TIONS AND TO RECEIVE SUCH BALLOTS TO SUCH APPLICANTS OR THE AGENTS NAMED
 IN  THE  APPLICATIONS  WHEN  SUCH  APPLICANTS  OR  AGENTS  APPEAR IN THE
 DISTRICT CLERK'S OFFICE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.