What's happening
This bill allows any registered voter in New York to vote by absentee ballot without needing a specific reason.
Why it matters
Expands voting access by removing all previous restrictions. on who can vote absentee, meaning that any registered voter can now choose to vote by mail, regardless of reason—potentially increasing voter participation, especially among those with unpredictable schedules, transportation issues, or health concerns.
Eliminates the need to provide an excuse or reason. (such as illness, disability, travel, or incarceration for certain offenses) when requesting an absentee ballot, reducing administrative hurdles and the potential for mistakes or denials based on eligibility.
Creates a new option for permanent absentee voting for all. , not just those with permanent illness or disabilities, allowing voters to automatically receive absentee ballots for all future elections without reapplying—making voting more convenient for those who prefer or need to vote by mail long-term.
May have significant impacts on election operations and security. , as boards of elections will need to handle a potentially much higher volume of mail-in ballots, adjust processes for verifying and counting them, and address concerns about ballot integrity and delivery reliability.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Let All Voters Use Absentee
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to elections
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Allow Vote By Mail
In Assembly Committee · Election Law · Sponsor David Weprin
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8160
IN SENATE
April 13, 2020
Introduced by Sen. GRIFFO -- 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 any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 of section 8-400 of the election law, subdivisions 1, 3 and 4 as amended by chapter 63 of the laws of 2010, paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 and subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 375 of the laws of 2015, the opening paragraph of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 216 of the laws of 1988, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 263 of the laws of 1991, paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 321 of the laws of 1988, and paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 as separately amended by chapters 97 and 104 of the laws of 2010, are 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 expects to be:
(a) absent from the county of his or her residence, or, if a resident 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 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 will be or is a patient in a hospital; or
(c) a resident or patient of a veterans health administration hospital; or
(d) absent from his or her voting residence because he or she 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 is qualified to vote in the election
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08582-01-9
S. 8160 2
district of his or her residence.] (a) Any person who is registered to vote may vote by absentee ballot.
(b) A registered voter may not vote in person if the voter filed an application to vote by absentee ballot.
2. A qualified voter desiring to vote at such election as an absentee voter for any reason specified in subdivision one hereof must make application for an absentee ballot on a form to be obtained and filed as provided herein or by letter as provided in paragraph (d) of this subdivision.
(a) Application forms shall be furnished by and may be obtained from any board of elections at any time until the day before such election. Application forms shall also be supplied by the board of inspectors of the election district in which applicant is a qualified voter on all of the days provided for local registration. In addition, application forms shall be supplied upon the request of the person authorized to vote pursuant to this section, any such person's spouse, parent or child, a person residing with the applicant as a member of his household, or the applicant's duly authorized agent. Application forms sent outside of the United States to a country other than Canada or Mexico, shall be sent airmail. Any reference to "board of elections" in the remaining provisions of this section, except with respect to the furnishing and obtaining of applications for absentee ballots, means only the board of elections of the county or city in which the applicant is a qualified voter.
(b) Applications may be filed either with the board of elections or in person with the board of inspectors of the election district in which the applicant is a qualified voter, on one of the days provided for local registration.
(c) All applications must be mailed to the board of elections not later than the seventh day before the election for which a ballot is first requested or delivered to such board not later than the day [before] of such election.
(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, which is signed by the voter and received by the board of elections 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 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 chapter; 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. The board of elections shall enclose with such ballot a form of application for absentee ballot if the applicant is registered with such board of elections.
3. The application for an absentee ballot when filed must contain in each instance the following information:
(a) Applicant's full name, date of birth, and residence address, including the street and number, if any, rural delivery route, if any, mailing address if different from the residence address and his or her town or city and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed.
S. 8160 3
(b) A statement that the applicant is a qualified and registered voter.
(c) [A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election the applicant expects in good faith to be in one of the following categories:
(i) absent from the county of his or her residence, or if a resident of the city of New York absent from said city; provided, however, if the applicant expects to be absent from such county or city for a duration covering more than one election and seeks an absentee ballot for each election, he or she shall state the dates when he or she expects to begin and end such absence; or
(ii) unable to appear at a polling place 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
(iii) a resident or patient of a veterans health administration hospital; or
(iv) 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 and stating the place where he or she is so detained or confined.
(d)] Such application shall permit the applicant to apply for an absentee ballot for either a primary election or the general election in any year and for those persons who will be continuously absent from their county of residence during the period between the fall primary election and the general election in any year to apply for ballots for both such elections in such year. A voter who applies for an absentee ballot shall be sent an absentee ballot for any special election or winter primary that occurs during the period of absence specified in the application.
4. [A voter who claims permanent illness or physical disability] Any voter may make application for an absentee ballot and the right to receive an absentee ballot for each election thereafter as provided herein without further application[, by filing with the board of elections an application which shall contain a statement to be executed by the voter]. Upon filing of such application the board of elections shall cause the registration records of the voter to be marked ["Permanently Disabled"] "permanent absentee" and thereafter shall send an absentee ballot for each succeeding primary, special or general election to such voter at his or her last known address by first class mail with a request to the postal authorities not to forward such ballot but to return it in five days in the event that it cannot be delivered to the addressee. The mailing of such ballot for each election shall continue until such voter's registration is cancelled.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the election law, in relation to authorizing any regis- tered voter to vote by absentee ballot
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to allow for any voter in the state of New York to vote absentee ballot regardless of reason.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Subdivision 1 amends the election law regarding absentee ballots by allowing any voter to vote absentee without justification. Additionally, it prevents anyone who has filed an application to vote absentee ballot from voting in person at a polling station.
Subdivision 2 allows the absentee ballot to be delivered to the appro- priate board of elections the day of an election.
Subdivision 3 removes the justification provisions on an application for why someone is voting absentee.
Subdivision 4 allows any voter who wishes to vote absentee to request that they automatically receive an application each election they are eligible to vote in. Any voter wishing to do so will be marked "perma- nent absentee."
Section 2 is the effective date.
Existing law
Currently, an individual may only receive an absentee ballot if they are going to be absent from their county of residence on election day, are unable to appear due to temporary or permanent illness or disability, are a primary care giver of one or more individuals who are ill or phys- ically disabled, a resident or patient of a Veterans Health Adminis- tration Hospital, or have been detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury Action or are in prison after being convicted of an offense other than a felony.
Justification
The reason for this is to enhance voter participation and alleviate various impediments to voting.
Legislative history
2018-19 - Elections Committee.
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
Immediate.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.