Senate Bill S466

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    466
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. MYRIE, COMRIE, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN, LIU, MAY, RAMOS
   -- 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  certain  absentee
   ballots received by a board of elections that do not bear or display a
   dated postmark
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 8-412  of  the  election  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  140  of  the  laws  of 2020, is amended to read as
 follows:
   1. The board of elections shall cause all absentee ballots received by
 it before the close of  the  polls  on  election  day  and  all  ballots
 contained in envelopes [showing a cancellation mark of] SUBMITTED TO the
 United  States  postal service or a foreign country's postal service, or
 [showing a dated endorsement of receipt by] another agency of the United
 States government, with a date which is ascertained to be not later than
 the day of the election and received by  such  board  of  elections  not
 later  than  seven  days  following  the  day of election to be cast and
 counted.  For purposes of this section, any absentee ballot received  by
 the  board  of  elections  by mail that does not bear or display a dated
 postmark shall be presumed to have been timely mailed  or  delivered  if
 such ballot bears a time stamp of the receiving board of elections indi-
 cating receipt by such board on the day after the election. THE BOARD OF
 ELECTIONS SHALL AFFIX TO EACH ABSENTEE BALLOT ENVELOPE A UNIQUE BAR CODE
 THAT  PERMITS THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS TO ASCERTAIN THE DATE UPON WHICH AN
 ABSENTEE BALLOT IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES POSTAL  SERVICE  OR  A
 FOREIGN COUNTRY'S POSTAL SERVICE, OR ANOTHER AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES
 GOVERNMENT.

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

                                                            LBD02497-01-1

 S. 466                              2
 
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 8-412 of the election law, as amended by
 chapter 140 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   1. The board of elections shall cause all absentee ballots received by
 it  before  the  close  of  the  polls  on  election day and all ballots
 contained in envelopes [showing a cancellation mark of] SUBMITTED TO the
 United States postal service or a foreign country's postal  service,  or
 [showing a dated endorsement of receipt by] another agency of the United
 States government, with a date which is ascertained to be not later than
 the  day  of  the  election  and received by such board of elections not
 later than seven days following the day  of  election  to  be  cast  and
 counted  except  that  the absentee ballot of a voter who requested such
 ballot by letter, rather than application, shall not be counted unless a
 valid application form, signed by such voter, is received by  the  board
 of  elections with such ballot. For purposes of this section, any absen-
 tee ballot received by the board of elections by mail that does not bear
 or display a dated postmark shall be presumed to have been timely mailed
 or delivered if such ballot bears a time stamp of the receiving board of
 elections indicating  receipt  by  such  board  on  the  day  after  the
 election.  THE  BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS SHALL AFFIX TO EACH ABSENTEE BALLOT
 ENVELOPE A UNIQUE BAR CODE THAT PERMITS THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS TO ASCER-
 TAIN THE DATE UPON WHICH AN ABSENTEE BALLOT IS SUBMITTED TO  THE  UNITED
 STATES  POSTAL SERVICE OR A FOREIGN COUNTRY'S POSTAL SERVICE, OR ANOTHER
 AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.
   § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 8-412 of the election law is  renumbered
 subdivision 3 and a new subdivision 2 is added to read as follows:
   2.  AN  ABSENTEE  BALLOT THAT HAS NO CANCELLATION MARK, A CANCELLATION
 MARK WITH NO DATE, OR AN  ILLEGIBLE  CANCELLATION  MARK,  AND  NO  OTHER
 INFORMATION  IS  AVAILABLE  FROM  THE  UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE OR A
 FOREIGN COUNTRY'S POSTAL SERVICE, OR ANOTHER AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES
 GOVERNMENT TO INDICATE THE DATE ON WHICH THE ABSENTEE BALLOT WAS MAILED,
 THE ABSENTEE BALLOT SHALL BE TIMELY CAST AND CANVASSED IF IT IS RECEIVED
 BY THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS THROUGH THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE OR  A
 FOREIGN  COUNTRY'S POSTAL SERVICE OR ANOTHER AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES
 GOVERNMENT, NO LATER THAN THE SEVENTH DAY AFTER THE ELECTION DAY AND THE
 ABSENTEE BALLOT AFFIDAVIT ENVELOPE IS SIGNED AND DATED ON OR BEFORE  THE
 DAY OF ELECTION.
   §  4.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately  and shall apply to
 elections occurring on or after such effective date, provided,  however,
 that  the  amendments  to subdivision 1 of section 8-412 of the election
 law made by section one of this act shall be subject to  the  expiration
 and reversion of such subdivision pursuant to section 7 of chapter 91 of
 the  laws  of  2020  as  amended,  when upon such date the provisions of
 section two of this act shall take effect.