Senate Bill S6653

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6653
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 3, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- 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 prohibiting the  deliv-
   ery  of  an  absentee ballot or an application therefore to an address
   associated with a candidate's campaign

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  (d)  of  subdivision 2 of section 8-400 of the
 election law, as separately amended by chapters 273 and 746 of the  laws
 of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   (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 later than the fifteenth day before the election for which
 the ballot is first requested and which states  the  address  where  the
 voter is registered and the address to which the ballot is to be mailed;
 provided,  however,  a  military  voter may request a military ballot or
 voter registration application or an absentee ballot  application  in  a
 letter  as provided in subdivision three of section 10-106 of this chap-
 ter; [and] provided further, a  special  federal  voter  may  request  a
 special  federal ballot or voter registration application or an absentee
 ballot application in a letter as provided in paragraph d of subdivision
 one of section 11-202 of this chapter; AND PROVIDED FURTHER,  NO  BALLOT
 APPLICATION  SHALL BE MAILED TO AN ADDRESS ASSOCIATED WITH A CANDIDATE'S
 CAMPAIGN. The board of elections shall enclose with such ballot  a  form
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10839-01-3
 S. 6653                             2
              

 
 of  application  for absentee ballot if the applicant is registered with
 such board of elections.
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 8-406 of the election law, as amended by
 section  2  of  part HH of chapter 55 of the laws of 2022, is amended to
 read as follows:
   1. If the board shall find that the applicant is a qualified voter  of
 the  election  district containing his OR HER residence as stated in his
 OR HER statement and that his OR HER statement is sufficient, it  shall,
 as  soon  as practicable after it shall have determined his OR HER right
 thereto, mail to him OR HER at an address designated by him OR  HER,  or
 deliver  to  him OR HER, or to any person designated for such purpose in
 writing by him OR HER, at the office of  the  board,  such  an  absentee
 voter's ballot or set of ballots and an envelope therefor. If the ballot
 or  ballots  are  to  be  sent outside of the United States to a country
 other than Canada or Mexico, such ballot or ballots shall be sent by air
 mail.  However, if an applicant who is eligible for an  absentee  ballot
 is a resident of a facility operated or licensed by, or under the juris-
 diction of, the department of mental hygiene, or a resident of a facili-
 ty  defined as a nursing home or residential health care facility pursu-
 ant to subdivisions two and three of section two thousand eight  hundred
 one  of  the  public  health  law,  or a resident of a hospital or other
 facility operated by the Veteran's Administration of the United  States,
 such  absentee  ballot  need  not  be so mailed or delivered to any such
 applicant but, may be delivered to the voter in the manner prescribed by
 section 8-407 of this [chapter] TITLE if such facility is located in the
 county or city in which such voter is eligible to  vote.    NO  ABSENTEE
 VOTER'S  BALLOT  SHALL  BE MAILED TO AN ADDRESS ASSOCIATED WITH A CANDI-
 DATE'S CAMPAIGN.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.