S 7689: Authorizes electronic absentee ballot applications for military voters and special federal voters; removes requirements that the federal post card application form be included with certain ballot application and ballots; requires institutions of higher education to provide students studying abroad with information on how to vote from abroad.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7689 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 29, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections AN ACT to amend the election law and the education law, in relation to overseas military voters and special federal voters The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 8-408 of the election law is 2 amended by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows: 3 (e) Military voters and special federal voters who receive a federal 4 post card application form shall be able to submit such federal post 5 card application form using the electronic absentee ballot application 6 transmittal system. 7 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 10-107 of the election law, as added by 8 chapter 104 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 9 2. Irrespective of the preferred method of transmission designated by 10 a military voter, a military voter's original completed voter registra- 11 tion application[, military ballot application] and military ballot must 12 be returned by mail or in person notwithstanding that a prior copy was 13 sent to the board of elections by facsimile transmission or electronic 14 mail. A completed military ballot application submitted through the 15 electronic absentee ballot application transmittal system established 16 under section 8-408 of this chapter shall be an original application and 17 no conforming paper submission, including but not limited to a federal 18 post card application form, shall be required to be submitted to either 19 the state board of elections or any county board of elections. 20 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 10-108 of the election 21 law, as amended by chapter 164 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read 22 as follows: 23 (a) Ballots for military voters shall be mailed or otherwise distrib- 24 uted by the board of elections, in accordance with the preferred method 25 of transmission designated by the voter pursuant to section 10-107 of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11782-04-5 
 S. 7689 2 1 this article, as soon as practicable but in any event not earlier than 2 ninety days nor later than [forty-six] seventy-five days before a prima- 3 ry or general election; twenty-five days before a New York city communi- 4 ty school board district or city of Buffalo school district election; 5 fourteen days before a village election conducted by the board of 6 elections; forty-five days before a special election; and twenty-three 7 days before a special election held pursuant to paragraph b of subdivi- 8 sion three of section forty-two of the public officers law. A voter who 9 submits a military ballot application shall be entitled to a military 10 ballot thereafter for each subsequent election through and including the 11 next two regularly scheduled general elections held in even numbered 12 years, including any run-offs which may occur; provided, however, such 13 application shall not be valid for any election held within seven days 14 after its receipt. Ballots shall also be mailed to any qualified mili- 15 tary voter who is already registered and who requests such military 16 ballot from such board of elections in a letter, which is signed by the 17 voter and received by the board of elections not later than the seventh 18 day before the election for which the ballot is requested and which 19 states the address where the voter is registered and the address to 20 which the ballot is to be mailed. The board of elections shall enclose 21 with such ballot a form of application for military ballot. In the case 22 of a primary election, the board shall deliver only the ballot of the 23 party with which the military voter is enrolled according to the mili- 24 tary voter's registration records. In the event a primary election is 25 uncontested in the military voter's election district for all offices or 26 positions except the party position of member of the ward, town, city or 27 county committee, no ballot shall be delivered to such military voter 28 for such election; and the military voter shall be advised of the reason 29 why [he or she] they will not receive a ballot. 30 § 4. Section 10-112 of the election law, as amended by chapter 104 of 31 the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 32 § 10-112. Military voter; voting. The military voter shall mark the 33 military ballot provided for in this article in the same manner as an 34 absentee ballot. After marking the ballot, [he or she] such military 35 voter shall fold such ballot and enclose it in the inner affirmation 36 envelope bearing the military voter's affirmation on the outside of the 37 envelope and seal the envelope. [He or she] Such military voter shall 38 then sign the affirmation, with the blanks properly filled in. The inner 39 affirmation envelope containing the military ballot shall then be 40 inserted in the outer envelope addressed to the appropriate board of 41 elections, which shall be mailed or personally delivered to such board 42 of elections of [his or her] such military voter's county of residence 43 within the time limits provided by this chapter. A board of elections 44 shall not refuse to accept and process any valid military ballot without 45 the official post card form prescribed under section 101 of the 46 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 USC 1973ff). 47 § 5. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 10-125 of the election law, as 48 added by chapter 104 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as 49 follows: 50 1. A board of elections shall not refuse to accept and process any 51 otherwise valid voter registration application or military ballot appli- 52 cation (including the official post card form prescribed under section 53 101 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 USC 54 1973ff)) or marked military ballot submitted by mail or personally 55 delivered, solely on the basis of the following: 56 (a) Notarization requirements; 
 S. 7689 3 1 (b) Restrictions on paper type, including weight and size; [or] 2 (c) Restrictions on envelope type, including weight and size; or 3 (d) Not including the official post card form prescribed under section 4 101 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 USC 5 1973ff) with the military ballot application or marked military ballot. 6 2. A board of elections shall not refuse to accept and process any 7 otherwise valid federal write-in absentee ballot submitted in any manner 8 by a military voter solely on the basis of the following: 9 (a) Notarization requirements; 10 (b) Restrictions on paper type, including weight and size; [or] 11 (c) Restrictions on envelope type, including weight and size; or 12 (d) Not including the official post card form prescribed under section 13 101 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 USC 14 1973ff) with the federal write-in absentee ballot. 15 § 6. Subdivision 2 of section 11-203 of the election law, as added by 16 chapter 104 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 17 2. Irrespective of the preferred method of transmission designated by 18 a special federal voter, a special federal voter's original completed 19 voter registration application[, special federal ballot application] and 20 special federal ballot must be returned by mail or in person notwith- 21 standing that a prior copy was sent to the board of elections by facsim- 22 ile transmission or electronic mail. A completed special federal voter 23 ballot application submitted through the electronic absentee ballot 24 application transmittal system established under section 8-408 of this 25 chapter shall be an original application and no conforming paper 26 submission, including but not limited to a federal post card application 27 form, shall be required to be submitted to either the state board of 28 elections or any county board of elections. 29 § 7. Subdivision 1 of section 11-210 of the election law, as amended 30 by chapter 262 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows: 31 1. Not earlier than [sixty] ninety or later than [forty] seventy-five 32 days before each general or primary election in which special federal 33 voters are eligible to vote, the board of elections shall mail to each 34 voter who is eligible to vote in such election and who was registered 35 pursuant to this title for the previous election at which such voters 36 were eligible to vote, the application for a special federal ballot 37 provided for by this title[; provided, however, the board of elections 38 shall not send such an application to any person who has applied for a 39 ballot and who is entitled to receive a ballot for such election]. 40 § 8. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 11-219 of the election law, as 41 added by chapter 104 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as 42 follows: 43 1. A board of elections shall not refuse to accept and process any 44 otherwise valid voter registration application or special federal ballot 45 application (including the official post card form prescribed under 46 section 101 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 47 (42 USC 1973ff)) or marked special federal ballot submitted by mail or 48 personally delivered, solely on the basis of the following: 49 (a) Notarization requirements; 50 (b) Restrictions on paper type, including weight and size; [or] 51 (c) Restrictions on envelope type, including weight and size; or 52 (d) Not including the official post card form prescribed under section 53 101 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 USC 54 1973ff) with the special federal ballot application or marked special 55 federal ballot. 
 S. 7689 4 1 2. A board of elections shall not refuse to accept and process any 2 otherwise valid federal write-in absentee ballot submitted in any manner 3 by a special federal voter solely on the basis of the following: 4 (a) Notarization requirements; 5 (b) Restrictions on paper type, including weight and size; [or] 6 (c) Restrictions on envelope type, including weight and size; or 7 (d) Not including the official post card form prescribed under section 8 101 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 USC 9 1973ff) with the federal write-in absentee ballot. 10 § 9. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 11 subdivision 63 to read as follows: 12 63. The commissioner shall require institutions of higher education to 13 provide all enrolled students which are participating in classes or 14 educational experiences while in another country during a primary or 15 general election with an electronic form for a federal post card appli- 16 cation or a link to such a form or application with clear direction on 17 how to vote from another country at least one week prior to the start of 18 such classes or educational experiences in another country. 19 § 10. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 20 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 21 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 22 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 23 on or before such effective date.