S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  6970--A
                                                         Cal. No. 271
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 16, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. WALKER, JACOBSON, OTIS, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, PERRY,
   STIRPE  --  read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law --
   reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means  --  reported
   from  committee,  advanced  to  a  third  reading, amended and ordered
   reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to establishing  an  elec-
   tronic absentee ballot application transmittal system
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 8-400 of  the  election  law,  the
 opening  paragraph  as amended by chapter 216 of the laws of 1988, para-
 graph (a) as amended by chapter 263 of the laws of 1991,  paragraph  (c)
 as amended by chapter 321 of the laws of 1988 and paragraph (d) as sepa-
 rately amended by chapters 97 and 104 of the laws of 2020, is amended to
 read as follows:
   2.  A qualified voter desiring to vote at such election as an absentee
 voter for any reason specified  in  subdivision  one  hereof  must  make
 application for an absentee ballot on a form to be obtained and filed as
 provided  herein  [or],  by  letter as provided in paragraph (d) of this
 subdivision, OR THROUGH THE ELECTRONIC ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION TRAN-
 SMITTAL SYSTEM PURSUANT TO SECTION 8-408 OF THIS TITLE.
   (a) Application forms shall be furnished by and may be  obtained  from
 any  board  of elections at any time until the day before such election,
 OR ON THE ELECTRONIC ABSENTEE  BALLOT  APPLICATION  TRANSMITTAL  SYSTEM.
 Application  forms  shall also be supplied by the board of inspectors of
 the election district in which applicant is a qualified voter on all  of
 the days provided for local registration. In addition, application forms
 shall  be  supplied  upon  the  request of the person authorized to vote
 pursuant to this section, any such person's spouse, parent or  child,  a
 person  residing with the applicant as a member of his household, or the
 applicant's duly authorized agent. Application forms sent outside of the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10858-06-1

 A. 6970--A                          2
 
 United States to a country other than Canada or Mexico,  shall  be  sent
 airmail.  Any  reference  to  "board  of  elections"  in  the  remaining
 provisions of this section, except with respect to  the  furnishing  and
 obtaining  of applications for absentee ballots, means only the board of
 elections of the county or city in which the applicant  is  a  qualified
 voter.
   (b)  Applications  may  be filed [either] with the board of elections,
 THROUGH THE ELECTRONIC ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION TRANSMITTAL SYSTEM or
 in person with the board of inspectors of the election district in which
 the applicant is a qualified voter[,] on one of the  days  provided  for
 local registration.
   (c)  All applications REQUESTING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT BY MAIL OR THROUGH
 THE ELECTRONIC ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION TRANSMITTAL  SYSTEM  must  be
 [mailed  to]  RECEIVED  BY  the  board  of  elections not later than the
 [seventh] FIFTEENTH day before the election for which a ballot is  first
 requested  [or  delivered  to]. APPLICATIONS FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT THAT
 WILL BE DELIVERED IN PERSON AT THE BOARD OF ELECTION TO THE VOTER OR  TO
 AN  AGENT OF THE VOTER MUST BE RECEIVED BY such board not later than the
 day before such election.
   (d) The board of elections shall mail  an  absentee  ballot  to  every
 qualified  voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests such
 an absentee ballot from such board of elections in writing in a  letter,
 telefax indicating the address, phone number and the telefax number from
 which  the writing is sent or other written instrument, OR AN ELECTRONIC
 APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY  THE  VOTER  THROUGH  THE  ELECTRONIC  ABSENTEE
 BALLOT  APPLICATION TRANSMITTAL SYSTEM ESTABLISHED BY THE STATE BOARD OF
 ELECTIONS, which is signed by the voter and received  by  the  board  of
 elections  not  [earlier  than  the  thirtieth  day  nor] later than the
 [seventh] FIFTEENTH day before the election  for  which  the  ballot  is
 first  requested  and which states the address where the voter is regis-
 tered and the address to which the ballot is  to  be  mailed;  provided,
 however,  a military voter may request a military ballot or voter regis-
 tration application or an absentee ballot application  in  a  letter  as
 provided  in  subdivision  three  of section 10-106 of this chapter; and
 provided further, a special federal voter may request a special  federal
 ballot  or voter registration application or an absentee ballot applica-
 tion in a letter as provided  in  paragraph  d  of  subdivision  one  of
 section  11-202  of  this  chapter. The board of elections shall enclose
 with such ballot a form of application for absentee ballot if the appli-
 cant is registered with such board of elections.
   § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 8-408 to read
 as follows:
   § 8-408. ELECTRONIC ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION TRANSMITTAL SYSTEM. 1.
 ESTABLISHMENT.  IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER MEANS OF APPLYING FOR AN ABSEN-
 TEE BALLOT, THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN AN
 ELECTRONIC ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION TRANSMITTAL SYSTEM THROUGH  WHICH
 VOTERS  MAY  APPLY  FOR  AN  ABSENTEE  BALLOT ONLINE. THE STATE BOARD OF
 ELECTIONS SHALL ELECTRONICALLY TRANSMIT SUCH APPLICATIONS TO THE  APPLI-
 CABLE  BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS  OF  EACH COUNTY OR THE CITY OF NEW YORK FOR
 PROCESSING CONSISTENT WITH THIS CHAPTER. IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  TECHNICAL
 SPECIFICATIONS  PROVIDED  BY THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS, EACH BOARD OF
 ELECTIONS SHALL MAINTAIN AN ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION  SYSTEM  CAPABLE
 OF  RECEIVING  AND  PROCESSING  ELECTRONIC ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATIONS,
 INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES, FROM THE ELECTRON-
 IC ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION TRANSMITTAL  SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED  BY  THE
 STATE  BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS  PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.  SUCH TRANSMITTAL

 A. 6970--A                          3
 
 SYSTEM SHALL BE FULLY INTEGRATED WITH EACH COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND
 THE CITY OF NEW YORK BOARD OF ELECTIONS SO THAT A VOTER MAY APPLY ONLINE
 DIRECTLY EITHER THROUGH THE WEBSITE OF HIS OR HER BOARD OF ELECTIONS  OR
 THE  STATE  BOARD OF ELECTIONS.   NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER INCONSISTENT
 PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER, APPLICATIONS FILED USING SUCH SYSTEM SHALL BE
 CONSIDERED FILED WITH THE APPLICABLE BOARD OF ELECTIONS ON THE  CALENDAR
 DATE  THE  APPLICATION IS INITIALLY TRANSMITTED BY THE VOTER THROUGH THE
 ELECTRONIC ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION TRANSMITTAL SYSTEM.
   2. ONLINE ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION.  (A) A VOTER SHALL BE  ABLE  TO
 APPLY  FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT USING A PERSONAL ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION
 APPLICATION SUBMITTED THROUGH THE ELECTRONIC ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION
 TRANSMITTAL SYSTEM WHEN THE VOTER:
   (I) COMPLETES AN ELECTRONIC ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION PROMULGATED BY
 THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS WHICH SHALL INCLUDE ALL OF THE  INFORMATION
 REQUIRED BY SECTION 8-400 OF THIS TITLE; AND
   (II) AFFIRMS, SUBJECT TO PENALTY OF PERJURY, BY MEANS OF ELECTRONIC OR
 MANUAL  SIGNATURE, THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE ABSENTEE BALLOT
 APPLICATION IS TRUE; AND
   (III) CONSENTS TO THE USE OF AN ELECTRONIC COPY  OF  THE  INDIVIDUAL'S
 MANUAL SIGNATURE THAT IS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHI-
 CLES,  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS,  OR  OTHER AGENCY DESIGNATED BY
 SECTION 5-211 OR 5-212 OF THIS CHAPTER,  AS  THE  INDIVIDUAL'S  ABSENTEE
 BALLOT EXEMPLAR SIGNATURE, OR PROVIDES SUCH A SIGNATURE BY DIRECT UPLOAD
 IN  A  MANNER THAT COMPLIES WITH THE NEW YORK STATE ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE
 AND RECORDS ACT AND THE RULES AND REGULATIONS PROMULGATED BY  THE  STATE
 BOARD OF ELECTIONS.
   (B)  THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL PROVIDE THE PERSONAL ONLINE ABSENTEE
 BALLOT APPLICATION IN ANY LANGUAGE REQUIRED BY THE FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS
 ACT OF 1965 (52 U.S.C. SEC. 10503) IN ANY COUNTY IN THE STATE.
   (C) THE ONLINE  ABSENTEE  BALLOT  APPLICATION  PROCESS  SHALL  PROVIDE
 REASONABLE  ACCOMMODATIONS  TO  IMPROVE  ACCESSIBILITY  FOR PERSONS WITH
 DISABILITIES AND SHALL BE COMPATIBLE FOR USE WITH STANDARD ONLINE ACCES-
 SIBILITY ASSISTANCE TOOLS FOR PERSONS WITH VISUAL, PHYSICAL  OR  PERCEP-
 TIVE DISABILITIES.
   (D)  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGU-
 LATIONS FOR THE CREATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF AN ONLINE ABSENTEE BALLOT
 REGISTRATION SYSTEM PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.
   3. FAILURE TO PROVIDE EXEMPLAR SIGNATURE NOT TO  PREVENT  APPLICATION.
 (A)  IF  AN  ABSENTEE  BALLOT  EXEMPLAR  SIGNATURE IS NOT PROVIDED BY AN
 APPLICANT WHO SUBMITS AN ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION  PURSUANT  TO  THIS
 SECTION,  THE  LOCAL  BOARD SHALL SEEK TO OBTAIN SUCH EXEMPLAR SIGNATURE
 FROM THE STATEWIDE VOTER  REGISTRATION  DATABASE,  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF
 ELECTIONS,  OR  A  STATE  OR LOCAL AGENCY DESIGNATED BY SECTION 5-211 OR
 5-212 OF THIS CHAPTER.
   (B) IF SUCH EXEMPLAR SIGNATURE IS NOT  AVAILABLE  FROM  THE  STATEWIDE
 VOTER REGISTRATION DATABASE, THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS, OR A STATE OR
 LOCAL  AGENCY  DESIGNATED BY SECTION 5-211 OR 5-212 OF THIS CHAPTER, THE
 LOCAL BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL, ABSENT  ANOTHER  REASON  TO  REJECT  THE
 APPLICATION,  REQUIRE  THE VOTER TO PROVIDE AN EXEMPLAR SIGNATURE BY ANY
 ONE OF THE FOLLOWING   METHODS: IN PERSON, BY  ELECTRONIC  MAIL,  OR  BY
 ELECTRONIC  UPLOAD  TO  THE  BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS THROUGH THE ELECTRONIC
 ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION TRANSMITTAL SYSTEM.
   (C) IF SUCH VOTER DOES NOT PROVIDE THE  REQUIRED  EXEMPLAR  SIGNATURE,
 THE  BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL PROCEED TO ISSUE AN ABSENTEE BALLOT TO THE
 VOTER ALONG WITH AN ABSENTEE  BALLOT  APPLICATION  FORM  REQUIRING  SUCH

 A. 6970--A                          4

 VOTER  TO SUBMIT A SIGNATURE UPON SUCH APPLICATION FORM AND RETURN IT TO
 THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS WITH THE VOTER'S BALLOT.
   § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2022.  Effective immediate-
 ly,  the  state board of elections shall be authorized to promulgate any
 rules or regulations required to carry out the provisions  of  this  act
 prior to such effective date.