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Senate Bill S5346

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Authorizes absentee voting for religious observance or practice

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

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2025-S5346 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A2358
Current Committee:
Senate Elections
Law Section:
Election Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §8-400, El L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:
S8637, A9547

2025-S5346 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that a qualified voter may receive an absentee ballot if such voter is unable to appear personally at the polling place of the election district in which such individual is a qualified voter because of a religious observance or practice.

2025-S5346 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S5346 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5346
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 20, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- 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  authorizing  absentee
   voting for religious observance
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 8-400  of  the  election  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter 63 of the laws of 2010 and paragraph (c) as amended
 by chapter 375 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   1. A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this  chapter
 if,  on the occurrence of any village election conducted by the board of
 elections, primary election, special election, general election  or  New
 York  city  community  school  board  district or city of Buffalo school
 district election, [he or she] SUCH PERSON expects to be:
   (a) absent from the county of [his or her] residence, or, if  a  resi-
 dent of the city of New York absent from said city; or
   (b)  unable  to appear personally at the polling place of the election
 district in which [he or she] SUCH PERSON is a qualified  voter  because
 of  illness or physical disability or duties related to the primary care
 of one or more individuals  who  are  ill  or  physically  disabled,  or
 because  [he  or she] SUCH PERSON will be or is a patient in a hospital;
 or
   (c) a resident or patient of a veterans health  administration  hospi-
 tal; or
   (d)  absent  from  [his  or her] THEIR voting residence because [he or
 she] SUCH PERSON 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 a felony, provided that [he or she]  SUCH  PERSON  is
 qualified to vote in the election district of [his or her] residence[.];
 OR
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02980-01-5
 S. 5346                             2

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