S 2589: Clarifies valid reasons to obtain an absentee ballot for elections in school districts which do not utilize poll registration.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2589 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 21, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MAYER, JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to absentee ballots for school district elections The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs a and c of subdivision 2 of section 2018-a of 2 the education law, paragraph a as amended and paragraph c as added by 3 chapter 616 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as follows: 4 a. A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this section 5 if [during all the hours of voting] on the [day] occurrence of an 6 election [he or she will] such voter expects to be: 7 (1) absent from [the] their county of [his or her] residence; or 8 (2) unable to appear personally at the polling place because of 9 illness or physical disability, or duties related to the primary care of 10 one or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or because 11 [he or she] such voter will be or is a patient in a hospital; or 12 (3) [an inmate] a resident or patient of a veteran's administration 13 hospital; or 14 (4) absent from [his or her] such voter's voting residence because [he 15 or she] such voter is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury 16 or awaiting trial, or confined in jail or prison after a conviction for 17 an offense other than a felony, provided that [he or she] such voter is 18 qualified to vote in the election district of [his or her] such voter's 19 residence. 20 c. The application for an absentee ballot when filed must contain in 21 each instance the following information: 22 (1) Applicant's full name, date of birth, and residence address, 23 including the street and number, if any, rural delivery route, if any, 24 mailing address if different from the residence address and an address 25 to which the ballot shall be mailed. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05811-02-5 
 S. 2589 2 1 (2) A statement that the applicant is a qualified and registered 2 voter. 3 (3) A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election the 4 applicant expects in good faith to be in one of the following catego- 5 ries: 6 (a) absent from [the] their county of [his or her] residence; 7 provided, however, if the applicant expects to be absent from such coun- 8 ty for a duration covering more than one election and seeks an absentee 9 ballot for each election, [he or she] such applicant shall state the 10 dates when [he or she expects] they expect to begin and end such 11 absence; or 12 (b) unable to appear at a polling place because of illness or physical 13 disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more individ- 14 uals who are ill or physically disabled; or 15 (c) [an inmate] a resident or patient of a veteran's administration 16 hospital; or 17 (d) detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial 18 or confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other 19 than a felony and stating the place where [he or she] such applicant is 20 so detained or confined. 21 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 2018-b of the education law, as amended 22 by chapter 46 of the laws of 1992, paragraph c as amended by chapter 26 23 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows: 24 2. a. An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an appli- 25 cation setting forth: 26 (1) [his] such applicant's full name, date of birth and residence 27 address, including the street and number, if any, or town and rural 28 delivery route, if any, mailing address if different from the residence 29 address and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed; 30 (2) that [he] such applicant is or will be, on the day of the school 31 district election, a qualified voter of the school district [in which he 32 resides in that he is or will be, on such date, over eighteen years of 33 age, a citizen of the United States and has or will have resided in the 34 district for thirty days next preceding such date]; 35 (3) [that he will be unable to appear to vote in person on the day of 36 the school district election for which the absentee ballot is requested 37 because he is, or will be on such day] a statement, as appropriate, that 38 on the day of such election the applicant expects in good faith to be in 39 one of the following categories: 40 (a) a resident or patient in a hospital, including a veteran's admin- 41 istration hospital, or unable to appear personally at the polling place 42 on such day because of illness or physical disability, or duties related 43 to the primary care of one or more individuals who are ill or physically 44 disabled; or 45 (b) [because his duties, occupation, business, or studies will require 46 him to be outside of the county or city of his residence on such day,] 47 absent from the county of such applicant's residence; provided, however, 48 if the applicant expects to be absent from such county for a duration 49 covering more than one election and seeks an absentee ballot for each 50 election, such applicant shall state the dates when they expect to begin 51 and end such absence; or 52 (c) [because he will be on vacation outside the county or city of his 53 residence on such day; or, 54 (d) absent from his voting residence because he is] detained in jail 55 awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial or [is] confined in 56 jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other than a felony and 
 S. 2589 3 1 stating the place where such applicant is so detained or confined. 2 [Such application must be received by the district clerk or designee of 3 the trustees or school board at least seven days before the election if 4 the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the election, 5 if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter.] 6 b. [(1) Where such duties, occupation, business, or studies are of 7 such a nature as ordinarily to require such absence, a brief description 8 of such duties, occupation, business, or studies shall be set forth in 9 such application. 10 (2) Where such duties, occupation, business, or studies are not of 11 such a nature as ordinarily to require such absence, such application 12 shall contain a statement of the special circumstances on account of 13 which such absence is required.] Such application must be received by 14 the district clerk or designee of the trustees or school board at least 15 seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the 16 voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be delivered 17 personally to the voter. 18 c. [Where the applicant expects in good faith to be absent on the day 19 of the election because he will be on vacation elsewhere on such day, 20 such application shall also contain the dates upon which he expects to 21 begin and end such vacation, the place or places where he expects to be 22 on such vacation, the name and address of his employer, if any, and if 23 self-employed or retired, a statement to that effect. 24 d. Where the absence is because of detention or confinement to jail, 25 such application shall state whether the voter is detained awaiting 26 action of the grand jury or is confined after conviction for an offense 27 other than a felony. 28 e. Where a person is or would be, if he were a qualified voter, enti- 29 tled to apply for the right to vote by absentee ballot under the 30 provisions of this section, his spouse, parent or child, if a qualified 31 voter and a resident of the same school district, shall be entitled to 32 vote as an absentee voter upon personally making and signing an applica- 33 tion in accordance with the preceding provisions of this subdivision and 34 showing that he expects to be absent from the school district on the day 35 of the school district election by reason of accompanying or being with 36 the spouse, child or parent who is or would be, if he were a qualified 37 voter, so entitled to apply for the right to vote by absentee ballot, 38 and, in the event no application is made by such spouse, child or 39 parent, such further information as the clerk of the school district or 40 designee of the trustees or school board shall require. 41 f.] Such application shall include the following statement to be 42 signed by the voter. 43 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 44 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 45 false statement in the foregoing statement of application for absentee 46 ballots, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 47 Date................... Signature of Voter ........................... 48 [g.] d. The clerk of the school district or a designee of the trustees 49 or school board shall request registration lists from the board of 50 elections pursuant to subdivision three of section 5-612 of the election 51 law for those voters whose registration record has been marked "perma- 52 nently disabled". An applicant whose ability to appear personally at the 53 polling place of the school district of which [he] such applicant is a 
 S. 2589 4 1 qualified voter is substantially impaired by reason of permanent illness 2 or physical disability and whose registration record has been marked 3 "permanently disabled" as determined by the board of elections pursuant 4 to the provisions of this chapter and who has previously applied for an 5 absentee ballot shall be entitled to receive subsequent absentee ballots 6 pursuant to the provisions of this section without making separate 7 application for such absentee ballot, and the clerk of the school 8 district or a designee of the trustees or school board shall send an 9 absentee ballot to such voter at [his] such voter's last known address 10 with a request to the postal authorities not to forward same but to 11 return same in five days in the event that it cannot be delivered to the 12 addressee. The clerk of the school district or a designee of the trus- 13 tees or school board shall determine whether such ballot shall be sent 14 by first class or by certified mail. All such ballots shall be mailed in 15 the same manner as determined by the trustees or the board of education. 16 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.