Legislation
SECTION 2018-F
Early mail ballots for school district elections by poll registration
Education (EDN) CHAPTER 16, TITLE 2, ARTICLE 41, PART 1
§ 2018-f. Early mail ballots for school district elections by poll
registration. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two thousand
fourteen and two thousand eighteen-e of this part, the trustees or the
board of education of any common, union free, central or central high
school district which does not provide for the personal registration of
voters for school district meetings and elections but which elects
trustees or school board members by ballot, shall provide for early mail
ballots for the election of the trustees or members of the board and
school district public library trustees, the adoption of the annual
budget and school district public library budget and referenda.
1-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two thousand fourteen
and two thousand eighteen-e of this part, in any county with a
population of one million or more, the trustees or the board of
education of any common, union free, central or central high school
district which does not provide for the personal registration of voters
for school district meetings and elections but which elects trustees or
school board members by ballot shall provide for early mail ballots for
the election of the trustees or members of the board and school district
public library trustees, the adoption of the annual budget and school
district public library budget and referenda.
2. a. An applicant for such an early mail ballot shall submit an
application setting forth (1) their name and residence address,
including the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery
route, if any; (2) that they are or will be, on the day of the school
district election, a qualified voter of the school district in which he
resides in that he is or will be, on such date, over eighteen years of
age, a citizen of the United States and has or will have resided in the
district for thirty days next preceding such date. Such application must
be received by the district clerk or designee of the trustees or school
board at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be
mailed to the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to
be delivered personally to the voter.
b. Such application shall include the following statement to be signed
by the voter.
I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material
false statement in the foregoing statement of application for early mail
ballot, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Date ................... Signature of Voter ............................
3. If, upon examining the application required under the provisions of
subdivision two of this section, and upon such inquiry as it deems
proper, the clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or
school board shall be satisfied that the applicant is a qualified voter
of the district, and entitled to vote by early mail ballot, such clerk
of the school district or designee of the trustees or school board shall
cause to be issued or mailed to the applicant an early mail voter's
ballot and the clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees
or school board shall make an appropriate entry on the poll list
pursuant to section two thousand twenty-nine of this part.
4. The clerk of the school district or a designee of the trustees or
school board shall also mail an early mail ballot to every qualified
voter otherwise eligible for such ballot, who requests an early mail
ballot from such clerk or trustees or school board designee in a letter
which is signed by the voter and received by the clerk or trustees or
school board designee not earlier than the thirtieth day nor later than
the seventh day before the election for which the ballot is first
requested and which states the address where the voter resides and to
which the ballot is to be mailed. The clerk or designee of the trustees
or school board shall enclose with such ballot a form of application for
early mail ballot. The early mail 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 clerk
of the school district or designee of the trustees or school board with
such ballot.
5. Ballots for early mail voters shall be, as nearly as practicable,
in the same form as those to be voted at the district election; if the
vote at such election shall be by ballot, the early mail ballot shall
conform to the regular ballot; if the vote of such election shall be by
voting machine, the early mail ballot shall conform as closely as
possible to the manner in which the names of the candidates, the
questions and the propositions appear on the voting machines, except
that the early mail ballot shall also contain a space for a write-in or
write-ins. On the back of such early mail ballots shall be printed words
"Official Ballot, Early Mail Voter".
6. a. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or
school board shall enclose each early mail voter's ballot in an envelope
which shall be labelled:
ELECTION MATERIAL
PLEASE EXPEDITE
On one side of such envelope shall be printed:
OFFICIAL BALLOT, EARLY MAIL VOTER
for
School District Election
Name of Voter ............
Residence (street and number, if any) ...............
City (or Town) of .....................
County of ....................
School District ...................
School Election District (if applicable) ................
The date of the election and name of the school district shall be
printed, and the name of the voter, residence, school district and
school election district (if applicable) shall be included.
b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the following
statement:
STATEMENT OF EARLY MAIL VOTER
I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States, and will be at
least eighteen years of age on the date of the school district election;
that I will have been a resident of this state and of the school
district and school election district, if any, shown on the reverse side
of this envelope for thirty days next preceding the said election and
that I am or on such date will be, a qualified voter of said school
district; that I have not qualified, or do I intend to vote, elsewhere
than as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I have not
received or offered, do not expect to receive, have not paid, offered or
promised to pay, contributed, offered or promised to contribute to
another to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing, as a
compensation or reward for the giving or withholding of a vote at this
school district election, and have not made any promise to influence the
giving or withholding of any such votes; that I have not made or become
directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the
result of this school district election; and that I have not been
convicted of bribery or any infamous crime, or, if so convicted, that I
have been pardoned or restored to all the rights of a citizen, without
restriction as to the right of suffrage, or have received a certificate
of relief from disabilities or a certificate of good conduct pursuant to
article twenty-three of the correction law removing my disability to
vote.
I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material
false statement in the foregoing statement of early mail voter, I shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Date .................. Signature of Voter .............................
c. The envelope shall be gummed, ready for sealing, and shall have
printed thereon, on the side opposite the statement, instructions as to
the duties of the voter after the marking of the ballot, which
instructions shall include a specific direction stating that the
envelope must reach the office of the clerk of the school district or
designee of the trustees or school board not later than five P.M. on the
day of the election in order that their vote may be canvassed.
d. A person who shall make any material false statement in the
statement of the early mail voter appearing on the reverse side of the
envelope as provided in this subdivision, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
7. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or
school board shall make a list of all persons to whom early mail voter's
ballots shall have been issued and maintain such list where it shall be
available for public inspection during regular office hours until the
day of the election. Any qualified voter may, upon examination of such
list, file a written challenge of the qualifications as a voter of any
person whose name appears on such list, stating the reasons for such
challenge. A challenge to an early mail ballot may not be made on the
basis that the voter should have applied for an absentee ballot. Such
written challenge shall be transmitted by the clerk or the designee of
the trustees or school board to the inspectors of election on election
day.
8. a. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or
school board shall be authorized to call upon the commissioner of police
and the officers and members of the police force for such assistance in
the enforcement of the provisions of this section as such trustees or
board shall require, and such commissioner and officers and members of
the police force shall be authorized to render such assistance.
b. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or
school board may require any person to attend before it at the office of
the clerk of the school district or the office of the designee of the
trustees or school board and be examined by the trustees or board as to
any matter in relation to which such trustees or board is charged with a
duty under this section, and may issue a subpoena therefor. Each member
of such trustees or board shall be authorized to administer any oath
that may be required or authorized by law in this connection.
9. No early mail voter's ballot shall be canvassed, unless it shall
have been received in the office of the clerk of the school district or
designee of the trustees or school board not later than five P.M. on the
day of the election.
10. The clerk of the district or designee of the trustees or school
board shall, on the day of the election, transmit all early mail voters'
envelopes, received by him in accordance with subdivision eight of this
section, to the inspectors of election.
11. If a person whose name is on an envelope as a voter shall have
already voted in person at such school district election, or if there is
no signature on the envelope, this envelope shall be laid aside unopened
and be returned unopened to the clerk of the district or designee of the
trustees or school board. If such person has not so voted in person, and
if no objection is made, or if an objection made be not sustained, the
envelope shall be opened and the ballot withdrawn without unfolding and
deposited in the proper box or boxes.
12. If the inspectors of election shall have received an envelope, and
upon opening the same no ballot shall be found therein, the inspectors
shall make a memorandum showing that the ballot is missing. When the
casting of early mail voters' ballots shall have been completed, the
inspectors shall ascertain the number of such ballots which have been
deposited in the ballot box by deducting from the number of envelopes
opened the number of missing ballots, and shall make a separate return
thereof in duplicate. The number of early mail voters' ballots deposited
in the ballot box shall be added to the number of other ballots to be
accounted for in the ballot box. Such ballots shall then be counted or
canvassed by the inspectors of election along with the other ballots
cast at such school district election, or, where voting machines are
used, shall be added to the votes recorded on such machines.
registration. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two thousand
fourteen and two thousand eighteen-e of this part, the trustees or the
board of education of any common, union free, central or central high
school district which does not provide for the personal registration of
voters for school district meetings and elections but which elects
trustees or school board members by ballot, shall provide for early mail
ballots for the election of the trustees or members of the board and
school district public library trustees, the adoption of the annual
budget and school district public library budget and referenda.
1-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two thousand fourteen
and two thousand eighteen-e of this part, in any county with a
population of one million or more, the trustees or the board of
education of any common, union free, central or central high school
district which does not provide for the personal registration of voters
for school district meetings and elections but which elects trustees or
school board members by ballot shall provide for early mail ballots for
the election of the trustees or members of the board and school district
public library trustees, the adoption of the annual budget and school
district public library budget and referenda.
2. a. An applicant for such an early mail ballot shall submit an
application setting forth (1) their name and residence address,
including the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery
route, if any; (2) that they are or will be, on the day of the school
district election, a qualified voter of the school district in which he
resides in that he is or will be, on such date, over eighteen years of
age, a citizen of the United States and has or will have resided in the
district for thirty days next preceding such date. Such application must
be received by the district clerk or designee of the trustees or school
board at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be
mailed to the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to
be delivered personally to the voter.
b. Such application shall include the following statement to be signed
by the voter.
I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material
false statement in the foregoing statement of application for early mail
ballot, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Date ................... Signature of Voter ............................
3. If, upon examining the application required under the provisions of
subdivision two of this section, and upon such inquiry as it deems
proper, the clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or
school board shall be satisfied that the applicant is a qualified voter
of the district, and entitled to vote by early mail ballot, such clerk
of the school district or designee of the trustees or school board shall
cause to be issued or mailed to the applicant an early mail voter's
ballot and the clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees
or school board shall make an appropriate entry on the poll list
pursuant to section two thousand twenty-nine of this part.
4. The clerk of the school district or a designee of the trustees or
school board shall also mail an early mail ballot to every qualified
voter otherwise eligible for such ballot, who requests an early mail
ballot from such clerk or trustees or school board designee in a letter
which is signed by the voter and received by the clerk or trustees or
school board designee not earlier than the thirtieth day nor later than
the seventh day before the election for which the ballot is first
requested and which states the address where the voter resides and to
which the ballot is to be mailed. The clerk or designee of the trustees
or school board shall enclose with such ballot a form of application for
early mail ballot. The early mail 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 clerk
of the school district or designee of the trustees or school board with
such ballot.
5. Ballots for early mail voters shall be, as nearly as practicable,
in the same form as those to be voted at the district election; if the
vote at such election shall be by ballot, the early mail ballot shall
conform to the regular ballot; if the vote of such election shall be by
voting machine, the early mail ballot shall conform as closely as
possible to the manner in which the names of the candidates, the
questions and the propositions appear on the voting machines, except
that the early mail ballot shall also contain a space for a write-in or
write-ins. On the back of such early mail ballots shall be printed words
"Official Ballot, Early Mail Voter".
6. a. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or
school board shall enclose each early mail voter's ballot in an envelope
which shall be labelled:
ELECTION MATERIAL
PLEASE EXPEDITE
On one side of such envelope shall be printed:
OFFICIAL BALLOT, EARLY MAIL VOTER
for
School District Election
Name of Voter ............
Residence (street and number, if any) ...............
City (or Town) of .....................
County of ....................
School District ...................
School Election District (if applicable) ................
The date of the election and name of the school district shall be
printed, and the name of the voter, residence, school district and
school election district (if applicable) shall be included.
b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the following
statement:
STATEMENT OF EARLY MAIL VOTER
I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States, and will be at
least eighteen years of age on the date of the school district election;
that I will have been a resident of this state and of the school
district and school election district, if any, shown on the reverse side
of this envelope for thirty days next preceding the said election and
that I am or on such date will be, a qualified voter of said school
district; that I have not qualified, or do I intend to vote, elsewhere
than as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I have not
received or offered, do not expect to receive, have not paid, offered or
promised to pay, contributed, offered or promised to contribute to
another to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing, as a
compensation or reward for the giving or withholding of a vote at this
school district election, and have not made any promise to influence the
giving or withholding of any such votes; that I have not made or become
directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the
result of this school district election; and that I have not been
convicted of bribery or any infamous crime, or, if so convicted, that I
have been pardoned or restored to all the rights of a citizen, without
restriction as to the right of suffrage, or have received a certificate
of relief from disabilities or a certificate of good conduct pursuant to
article twenty-three of the correction law removing my disability to
vote.
I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material
false statement in the foregoing statement of early mail voter, I shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Date .................. Signature of Voter .............................
c. The envelope shall be gummed, ready for sealing, and shall have
printed thereon, on the side opposite the statement, instructions as to
the duties of the voter after the marking of the ballot, which
instructions shall include a specific direction stating that the
envelope must reach the office of the clerk of the school district or
designee of the trustees or school board not later than five P.M. on the
day of the election in order that their vote may be canvassed.
d. A person who shall make any material false statement in the
statement of the early mail voter appearing on the reverse side of the
envelope as provided in this subdivision, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
7. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or
school board shall make a list of all persons to whom early mail voter's
ballots shall have been issued and maintain such list where it shall be
available for public inspection during regular office hours until the
day of the election. Any qualified voter may, upon examination of such
list, file a written challenge of the qualifications as a voter of any
person whose name appears on such list, stating the reasons for such
challenge. A challenge to an early mail ballot may not be made on the
basis that the voter should have applied for an absentee ballot. Such
written challenge shall be transmitted by the clerk or the designee of
the trustees or school board to the inspectors of election on election
day.
8. a. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or
school board shall be authorized to call upon the commissioner of police
and the officers and members of the police force for such assistance in
the enforcement of the provisions of this section as such trustees or
board shall require, and such commissioner and officers and members of
the police force shall be authorized to render such assistance.
b. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or
school board may require any person to attend before it at the office of
the clerk of the school district or the office of the designee of the
trustees or school board and be examined by the trustees or board as to
any matter in relation to which such trustees or board is charged with a
duty under this section, and may issue a subpoena therefor. Each member
of such trustees or board shall be authorized to administer any oath
that may be required or authorized by law in this connection.
9. No early mail voter's ballot shall be canvassed, unless it shall
have been received in the office of the clerk of the school district or
designee of the trustees or school board not later than five P.M. on the
day of the election.
10. The clerk of the district or designee of the trustees or school
board shall, on the day of the election, transmit all early mail voters'
envelopes, received by him in accordance with subdivision eight of this
section, to the inspectors of election.
11. If a person whose name is on an envelope as a voter shall have
already voted in person at such school district election, or if there is
no signature on the envelope, this envelope shall be laid aside unopened
and be returned unopened to the clerk of the district or designee of the
trustees or school board. If such person has not so voted in person, and
if no objection is made, or if an objection made be not sustained, the
envelope shall be opened and the ballot withdrawn without unfolding and
deposited in the proper box or boxes.
12. If the inspectors of election shall have received an envelope, and
upon opening the same no ballot shall be found therein, the inspectors
shall make a memorandum showing that the ballot is missing. When the
casting of early mail voters' ballots shall have been completed, the
inspectors shall ascertain the number of such ballots which have been
deposited in the ballot box by deducting from the number of envelopes
opened the number of missing ballots, and shall make a separate return
thereof in duplicate. The number of early mail voters' ballots deposited
in the ballot box shall be added to the number of other ballots to be
accounted for in the ballot box. Such ballots shall then be counted or
canvassed by the inspectors of election along with the other ballots
cast at such school district election, or, where voting machines are
used, shall be added to the votes recorded on such machines.