Allows a military voter to apply for a military ballot by facsimile transmission or electronic mail; extends time for receipt of special federal and military ballots

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill amends election law 8400(2)(d) to provide that military voters and other overseas voters may request a paper ballot as allowed in subsequent sections of the bill, i.e. by facsimile transmission or electronic mail.

Section 2 of the bill amends election law § 9-209(a) to allow boards of elections to fix a time for casting and canvassing paper ballots no more than fourteen days after a general or special election and no more than eight days after a primary election.

Section 3 of the bill adds a new subdivision 3 to election law § 10-106 to provide that a military voter may apply for a military ballot by facsimile transmission pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act or by electronic mail.

Section 4 of the bill amends election law § 10-114(1) to provide that a military ballot will be counted if a) it is postmarked or dated and witnessed no later than the day before the election and b) it is received by the board of elections no later than seven days following a primary election or thirteen days following a general or special election.

Section 5 of the bill adds a new paragraph d to election law § 11202(1) to provide that an overseas voter may apply for a special federal ballot by facsimile transmission pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Citi- zens Absentee Voting Act or by electronic mail.

Section 6 of the bill amends election law § 11-212 to provide that a special federal ballot cast by an overseas voter will be counted if a) it is postmarked or endorsed by a United States government agency no later than the day before the election and b) it is received by the board of elections no later than seven days following a primary election or thirteen days following a general or special election.

Section 7 of the bill amends section 4 of chapter 237 of the laws of 2005 to repeal the sunset provision and make that chapter's provisions permanent.

Section 8 of the bill is the effective date.

Justification

The federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act was enacted in 1986 to promote the opportunity for military and other overseas voters to timely apply for and obtain paper ballots that will be cast and counted. In 2001, the United States General Accounting Office estimated that the act covered 6.1 million citizens, including 2.7 million active military personnel and their relatives. Among military personnel who reported not voting in 2004, 30 percent said they were not able to vote because their ballots never arrived or arrived too late.

According to the United States Election Assistance Commission, in 2006, only 26.5 percent of the roughly 1 million absentee ballots requested by military and overseas Americans were cast and counted. In early 2009, the Unites State Senate Rules and Administration Committee, Chaired by Senator Charles Schumer of New York, surveyed election offices in seven states having high numbers of military personnel (California, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and West Virginia) with the assistance of the Congressional Research Service. The survey found that of the 441,000 absentee ballots requested by eligible voters living abroad in 2008, one quarter had not been counted because they were lost, returned as "undeliverable" or rejected for various reasons.

The Pew Center on the States recently issued a report titled No Time to Vote: Challenges Facing America's Overseas Military Voters. The report concluded that 16 states, or approximately one-third do not provide enough time for military and overseas voters to complete the absentee ballot process. The report made suggested changes to the election law for each state that would promote the timely receipt of paper ballots by military and overseas voters.

New York State has tried to address this issue since 2005. In order to promote voting by military personnel, New York enacted a law that allows military voters to sign their ballot envelopes before a witness rather than obtain a postmark and extended the time frame for receipt of such ballots by the board of elections to 13 days after a general election. This law contained a sunset provision and has been reenacted each year since 2005. It is set to expire on December 31, 2009. This bill is an attempt to further promote voting by military and other overseas voters. Two of the Pew Center's suggestions for New York are contained in chap- ter 237 of the laws of 2005 law and would be made permanent by this bill. In addition, this bill adopts additional Pew Center suggestions, extends all of the changes to overseas voters in addition to military voters and allows additional time for receipt of the completed ballot after special elections for the first time.

Extending the time to receive military and other overseas ballots will better ensure that no American living overseas will be disenfranchised in New York because of the distance and time it takes to send mail from the far corners of the world.

Legislative history

This makes permanent chapter 237 of the laws of 2005 and adds new provisions regarding military and other overseas voters.

Fiscal implications

None to the state. The federal government provides a toll free facsimile number for use by military and overseas federal voters.

Effective date

Immediately.