S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8552
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 11, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- 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 requiring the board  of
   elections  to mail notice of ensuing primary and general elections and
   registration information to active voters between the third Tuesday in
   April and the second Friday in May each year

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section 4-117 of the election law, as
 amended by chapter 200 of the laws  of  2020,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  The  board  of  elections, [not less than sixty-five days nor more
 than seventy days before the primary election] BETWEEN THE THIRD TUESDAY
 IN APRIL AND THE SECOND FRIDAY IN MAY in each year, shall send  by  mail
 on  which  is  endorsed  such  language designated by the state board of
 elections to ensure postal authorities do  not  forward  such  mail  but
 return it to the board of elections with forwarding information, when it
 cannot  be  delivered as addressed and which contains a request that any
 such mail received for persons not residing at the  address  be  dropped
 back in the mail, a communication, in a form approved by the state board
 of  elections, to every registered voter who has been registered without
 a change of address since the beginning of such year,  except  that  the
 board  of elections shall not be required to send such communications to
 voters in inactive status. The communication shall notify the  voter  in
 bold print contained in such notice of the days and hours of the ensuing
 primary  and general elections, the place where he or she appears by his
 or her registration records to be entitled to vote, and  also  in  other
 than bold type of the fact that voters who have moved or will have moved
 from  the address where they were last registered must either notify the
 board of elections of his or her new address or vote by paper ballot  at
 the  polling place for his or her new address even if such voter has not
 re-registered, or otherwise notified  the  board  of  elections  of  the
 change  of address. If the primary will not be held on the first Tuesday
 after the second Monday in September, the communication shall contain  a
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15015-01-2
 S. 8552                             2
 
 conspicuous  notice  in  all capital letters and bold font notifying the
 voter of the primary date. If the location of the polling place for  the
 voter's  election  district  has  been  moved,  the  communication shall
 contain  the following legend in bold type: "YOUR POLLING PLACE HAS BEEN
 CHANGED. YOU NOW VOTE AT..........". The communication shall also  indi-
 cate  whether  the  polling  place  is accessible to physically disabled
 voters, that a voter who will be out of the city or county on the day of
 the primary or general election or a voter  who  is  ill  or  physically
 disabled may obtain an absentee ballot, that a physically disabled voter
 whose  polling place is not accessible may request that his registration
 record be moved to an election district which has a polling place  which
 is  accessible,  the  phone  number  to  call for applications to move a
 registration record or  for  absentee  ballot  applications,  the  phone
 number  to call for the location of registration and polling places, the
 phone number to call to indicate that the voter is willing to  serve  on
 election  day  as  an  election inspector, poll clerk, interpreter or in
 other capacities, the phone number to call to obtain an application  for
 registration   by  mail,  and  such  other  information  concerning  the
 elections or registration as the board may include. In lieu  of  sending
 such communication to every registered voter, the board of elections may
 send  a  single  communication  to  a household containing more than one
 registered voter, provided that the names of all such voters  appear  as
 part of the address on such communication.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.