S 8644: Relates to the state board of elections creating uniform ballots for early mail, absentee, military and special voters who vote by mail; creates an electronic mail ballot application transmittal system; repeals certain provisions of the election law.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8644  IN SENATE January 7, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAY -- 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 New York city charter, in relation to the state board of elections creating uniform ballots for early mail, absentee, military and special voters who vote by mail; and to repeal certain provisions of the election law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1, subdivision 3 and subdivi- 2 sion 6 of section 7-119 of the election law, as added by chapter 481 of 3 the laws of 2023, are amended to read as follows: 4 (a) Ballots for early mail voters shall be, as nearly as practicable, 5 in the same form as those to be voted in the district on election day, 6 except that such ballots need not have a stub[, and shall have the words 7 "Early Mail Ballot", endorsed thereon]. 8 3. There shall be three envelopes for each early mail ballot issued by 9 mail: the inner affirmation envelope into which a voter places their 10 voted ballot, the outer envelope which shall be addressed to the early 11 mail voter, and the mailing envelope which is addressed to the county 12 board of elections. The board of elections shall furnish with each early 13 mail ballot an inner affirmation envelope in accordance with section 14 7-132 of this title. [On one side of the envelope shall be printed: 15 OFFICIAL EARLY MAIL BALLOT 16 for 17 GENERAL (OR PRIMARY OR SPECIAL) ELECTION, 18 ..........., 20....... 19 Name of voter .................. 20 Residence (street and number if any) .............. 21 City/or town of (village, if any) ................. 22 County of ............................... 23 Assembly District ...................... EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD14122-01-5 
 S. 8644 2 1 Legislative District (as applicable) .......... 2 Ward (as applicable) ..................... 3 Election District .................... 4 Party Enrollment (in case of primary election) ....................] 5 6. [On the] The reverse side of such inner affirmation envelope shall 6 be [printed the following statement: 7 AFFIRMATION 8 I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States, that I am duly 9 registered in the election district shown on the reverse side of this 10 envelope and I am qualified to vote in such district; that I have not 11 qualified nor do I intend to vote elsewhere, that I have not committed 12 any act nor am I under any impediment which denies me the right to vote. 13 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 14 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 15 false statement in the foregoing statement of early mail voter, I shall 16 be guilty of a misdemeanor. 17 Date ............... 20 ................ 18 .......................... 19 Signature or mark of voter 20 .......................... 21 Signature of Witness 22 (required only if voter 23 does not sign their own 24 name) 25 .......................... 26 Address of Witness] 27 in accordance with section 7-132 of this title. 28 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1, subdivision 3 and subdivision 6 29 of section 7-122 of the election law, paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 as 30 separately amended by chapter 615 of the laws of 2019, and subdivision 3 31 and subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, are 32 amended to read as follows: 33 (a) Ballots for absentee voters shall be, as nearly as practicable, in 34 the same form as those to be voted in the district on election day, 35 except that such ballots need not have a stub[, and shall have the words 36 "Absentee Ballot", endorsed thereon]. 37 3. There shall be three envelopes for each absentee ballot issued by 38 mail: the inner affirmation envelope into which a voter places [his or 39 her] their voted ballot, the outer envelope which shall be addressed to 40 the absentee voter, and the mailing envelope which is addressed to the 41 county board of elections. The board of elections shall furnish with 42 each absentee ballot an inner affirmation envelope in accordance with 43 section 7-132 of this title. [On one side of the envelope shall be 44 printed: 45 OFFICIAL ABSENTEE BALLOT 46 for 47 GENERAL (OR PRIMARY OR SPECIAL) ELECTION, 
 S. 8644 3 1 ........., 20..... 2 Name of voter......................................... 3 Residence (street and number if any).................. 4 City/or town of.......(village, if any)............... 5 County of............................................. 6 Assembly district .................................... 7 Legislative District (as applicable) ................. 8 Ward (as applicable) ................................. 9 Election District..................................... 10 Party Enrollment (in case of primary election)........] 11 6. [On the] The reverse side of such inner affirmation envelope shall 12 be [printed the following statement: 13 AFFIRMATION 14 I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States, that I am duly 15 registered in the election district shown on the reverse side of this 16 envelope and I am qualified to vote in such district; that I will be 17 unable to appear personally on the day of the election for which this 18 ballot is voted at the polling place of the election district in which I 19 am a qualified voter because of the reason given on my application here- 20 tofore submitted; that I have not qualified nor do I intend to vote 21 elsewhere, that I have not committed any act nor am I under any imped- 22 iment which denies me the right to vote. 23 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 24 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 25 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 26 guilty of a misdemeanor. 27 Date.................20..... ..................................... 28 Signature or mark of voter 29 ..................................... 30 Signature of Witness (required only 31 if voter does not sign his or her own 32 name) 33 ..................................... 34 Address of Witness] 35 in accordance with section 7-132 of this title. 36 § 3. Subdivision e of section 1057-hh of the New York city charter as 37 added by local law number 11 of the city of New York for the year 2022, 38 is amended to read as follows: 39 e. Section 7-122 of the election law shall apply to absentee ballots 40 and municipal absentee ballots mailed to municipal voters[, except that 41 the affirmation of United States citizenship in subdivision six of such 42 section shall not apply to an inner affirmation envelope included with 43 an absentee ballot or municipal absentee ballot distributed to a munici- 44 pal voter] and shall [be replaced with] include an affirmation stating 45 that the undersigned is qualified to vote under this chapter. 46 § 4. Subdivisions 3, 4, 5, and 7 of section 7-123 of the election law, 47 subdivisions 3 and 4 as amended and subdivisions 5 and 7 as added by 48 chapter 104 of the laws of 2010 and the opening paragraph of subdivision 49 3 as amended by chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as 50 follows: 
 S. 8644 4 1 3. There shall be three envelopes for each military absentee ballot 2 issued when the military voter's preferred method of transmission is by 3 mail: the inner affirmation envelope into which a voter places [his or 4 her] their voted ballot, the outer envelope which shall be addressed to 5 the absentee voter, and the mailing envelope which is addressed to the 6 county board of elections. The board of elections shall furnish an inner 7 affirmation envelope [with each military ballot upon which envelope 8 shall be printed: 9 BALLOT FOR MILITARY VOTER 10 AFFIRMATION 11 I swear or affirm that: 12 (a) I am a member of the uniformed services or merchant marine on 13 active duty or an eligible spouse, parent, child or dependent of such a 14 member, and 15 (b) I am a United States citizen, at least eighteen years of age (or 16 will be by the day of the election), eligible to vote in the requested 17 jurisdiction, and 18 (c) I have neither been convicted of a felony or other disqualifying 19 offense nor been adjudicated mentally incompetent, or if so, my voting 20 rights have been reinstated, and 21 (d) I am not registering, requesting a ballot, or voting in any other 22 jurisdiction in the United States, and 23 (e) My signature and date below indicate when I completed this docu- 24 ment, and 25 (f) The information on this form is true and complete to the best of 26 my knowledge. 27 I understand that a material misstatement of fact in the completion of 28 this document may constitute grounds for conviction of a crime. 29 Date .......... 20.... 30 ................................ 31 Signature or mark of voter 32 ................................ 33 Signature of Witness (required 34 only if voter does not sign his 35 or her own name) 36 ................................ 37 Address of Witness] 38 in accordance with section 7-132 of this title. 39 4. [On the] The reverse side of the inner affirmation envelope shall 40 be [printed: 41 TO BE FILLED IN BY THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS: 42 FOR..........ELECTION......... 20...... 43 County of................................................................ 44 Name of voter............................................................ 45 Voting residence (street and number, if any)............................. 46 City (or town) of..............Ward...................................... 47 Assembly District..............Election District......................... 48 Party Enrollment (in case of primary election)........................... 
 S. 8644 5 1 IMPORTANT TO MILITARY VOTER: YOU MUST SIGN THE AFFIRMATION ON THIS 2 ENVELOPE] in accordance with section 7-132 of this article. 3 5. The information in subdivision four of this section shall be filled 4 in by the board of elections in accordance with section 7-132 of this 5 title prior to the mailing of any military ballot and envelopes if the 6 military voter's preferred method of transmission with the board of 7 elections is by mail, or it may be filled in by the board of elections 8 upon the receipt of the returned military ballot and envelope where the 9 ballot and envelope have been transmitted to the military voter other 10 than by mail or in person. 11 7. If a military voter has designated a preference to receive [his or 12 her] their ballot by facsimile transmission or electronic mail pursuant 13 to section 10-107 of this chapter, the transmission of the military 14 voter's ballot shall include, together with all information and instruc- 15 tional materials that accompany ballot materials sent by the board of 16 elections to other absentee voters, appropriate instructions as to the 17 folding of same so as to create an inner affirmation envelope containing 18 all of the information set forth in subdivisions three, four and six of 19 this section and section 7-132 of this title. 20 § 5. Subdivision f of section 1057-hh of the New York city charter as 21 added by local law number 11 of the city of New York for the year 2022, 22 is amended to read as follows: 23 f. The board of elections in the city of New York may prescribe a 24 separate absentee ballot for military voters who are municipal voters 25 consistent with section 7-123 of the election law, but [omitting the] 26 otherwise [required affirmation of United States citizenship and replac- 27 ing it with] require an affirmation that the military voter meets the 28 qualifications of a municipal voter under this chapter. 29 § 6. Subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 of section 7-124 of the election 30 law, subdivisions 1, 2 and 4 as amended and subdivision 6 as added by 31 chapter 104 of the laws of 2010 and the opening and closing paragraphs 32 of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, are 33 amended to read as follows: 34 1. The ballots for special federal voters shall provide for voting for 35 presidential and vice-presidential electors, United States senator, 36 representative in congress, and delegates and alternate delegates to a 37 national convention only and shall be in the form prescribed by this 38 chapter for absentee ballots[, except that on either the front or the 39 back of the ballot shall be printed or stamped the words "Official 40 Ballot--Special Federal Voter", provided, however, that at any election 41 at which special federal voters may vote for all the offices and posi- 42 tions on the ballot, no such separate ballot shall be printed and the 43 ballot for special federal voters shall be the same as the ballot 44 provided to absentee voters in such election]. 45 2. There shall be three envelopes for each special federal absentee 46 ballot issued by mail: the inner affirmation envelope into which a voter 47 places [his or her] their voted ballot, the outer envelope which shall 48 be addressed to the absentee voter, and the mailing envelope which is 49 addressed to the county board of elections. The board of elections shall 50 furnish an inner affirmation envelope with each special federal ballot 51 [upon which envelope shall be printed: 52 I swear or affirm that: 53 (a) I am a United States citizen residing outside the United States, 54 and 55 (b) I am at least eighteen years of age (or will be by the day of the 56 election), eligible to vote in the requested jurisdiction, and 
 S. 8644 6 1 (c) I have neither been convicted of a felony or other disqualifying 2 offense nor been adjudicated mentally incompetent, or if so, my voting 3 rights have been reinstated, and 4 (d) I am not qualified to register, request a ballot, or vote in any 5 other jurisdiction in the United States, and 6 (e) My signature and date below indicate when I completed this docu- 7 ment, and 8 (f) The information on this form is true and complete to the best of 9 my knowledge. 10 I understand that a material misstatement of fact in the completion of 11 this document may constitute grounds for conviction of a crime. 12 Date.................20..... ..................................... 13 Signature or mark of voter 14 ..................................... 15 Signature of Witness (required only 16 if voter does not sign his or her own 17 name) 18 ..................................... 19 Address of Witness] 20 in accordance with section 7-132 of this title. 21 3. [On the] The reverse side of the inner affirmation envelope shall 22 be [printed: 23 TO BE FILLED IN BY THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS 24 FOR..........ELECTION......... 20...... 25 Name of voter .......................................................... 26 Residence from which vote is being cast: 27 Street and number .................................................... 28 City or town ......................................................... 29 County ............................................................... 30 Assembly District or Ward ............................................ 31 Election District .................................................... 32 Party Enrollment (in case of primary election) ....................... 33 IMPORTANT TO SPECIAL FEDERAL VOTER: YOU MUST SIGN THE AFFIRMATION ON 34 THIS ENVELOPE] in accordance with section 7-132 of this title. 35 4. The information in subdivision three of this section shall be 36 filled in by the board of elections in accordance with section 7-132 of 37 this title prior to the mailing of any special federal ballot and envel- 38 opes if the special federal voter's preferred method of transmission 39 with the board of elections is by mail, or it may be filled in by the 40 board of elections upon receipt of the returned special federal ballot 41 and envelope when the ballot and envelope have been transmitted to the 42 special federal voter other than by mail or in person. 43 6. If a special federal voter has designated a preference to receive 44 [his or her] their ballot by facsimile transmission or electronic mail 45 pursuant to section 11-203 of this chapter, the transmission of the 46 special federal voter's ballot shall include, together with all informa- 47 tion and instructional materials that accompany ballot materials sent by 48 the board of elections to other absentee voters, appropriate 
 S. 8644 7 1 instructions as to the folding of same so as to create an envelope 2 containing all of the information set forth in subdivisions two, three 3 and five of this section and section 7-132 of this title. 4 § 7. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 7-125 of the election law, 5 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 259 of the laws of 1991, and subdi- 6 visions 2 and 3 as amended by chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, are 7 amended to read as follows: 8 1. The ballots for special presidential voters shall provide for 9 voting for presidential and vice presidential electors only and shall be 10 in the form prescribed for absentee ballots[, except that either on the 11 front or the back they shall be endorsed with the words printed or 12 stamped, "Official Ballot-Special Presidential Voter" and "Presidential 13 Electors"]. 14 2. There shall be three envelopes for each special presidential absen- 15 tee ballot issued by mail: the inner affirmation envelope into which a 16 voter places [his or her] their voted ballot, the outer envelope which 17 shall be addressed to the absentee voter, and the mailing envelope which 18 is addressed to the county board of elections. The board of elections 19 shall furnish with each special presidential ballot an envelope in 20 accordance with section 7-132 of this title. [On one side of the envel- 21 ope shall be printed: 22 OFFICIAL BALLOT, SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL VOTERS, 23 FOR GENERAL ELECTION, 24 NOVEMBER......., 20.... 25 Name of voter .......................................................... 26 Residence from which vote is being cast: 27 Street and number ...................................................... 28 City or town ........................................................... 29 County ................................................................. 30 Assembly District or Ward .............................................. 31 Election District ...................................................... 32 The date of the election and name of the county shall be printed, and 33 the name of the voter, residence, name of the city or town, number of 34 ward or assembly district, if any, and election district shall be print- 35 ed, written or stamped in by the board.] 36 3. [On the] The reverse side of such envelope shall be [printed the 37 following statement: 38 STATEMENT OF SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL VOTER 39 I do declare I am a qualified special presidential voter of said 40 district; that I am not qualified and am not able to qualify to vote 41 elsewhere than as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I 42 am a citizen of the United States; that on the date of the election for 43 which this ballot is voted, I will be at least eighteen years of age; 44 and that I have not committed any act, nor am I under any impediment, 45 which denies me the right to vote. 46 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 47 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 48 false statement in the foregoing statement, I shall be guilty of a 49 misdemeanor. 
 S. 8644 8 1 Date.................20..... ..................................... 2 Signature or mark of voter 3 ..................................... 4 Signature of Witness (required only 5 if voter does not sign his or her own 6 name) 7 ..................................... 8 Address of Witness] 9 in accordance with section 7-132 of this title. 10 § 8. The election law is amended by adding a new section 7-132 to read 11 as follows: 12 § 7-132. Ballots; form for voters by mail. 1. The state board of 13 elections shall prescribe a single, uniform ballot form to be used by 14 early mail, absentee, military and special voters who vote by mail. Such 15 ballot shall satisfy all requirements and standards set forth by the 16 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. Sec. 17 20302 et seq.). 18 2. The state board of elections shall create a uniform inner affirma- 19 tion envelope, containing a uniform oath, to be used by county boards of 20 election into which early mail, absentee, military and special voters 21 place their voted ballot. In the event that such envelope conflicts with 22 federal law, the state board of elections shall create alternate inner 23 affirmation envelopes in a manner consistent with federal law. 24 3. The state board of elections shall promulgate rules and regulations 25 necessary for the implementation of this section. Such rules and regu- 26 lations shall include, but not be limited to, provisions that authorize 27 the state board of elections to: standardize and format the single, 28 uniform ballot; provide such ballot in any language required by the 29 federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503); and consult 30 with vendors to ensure ballot uniformity. 31 4. The state board of elections shall promulgate rules and regulations 32 for the creation and administration of a statewide online ballot appli- 33 cation system for early mail, absentee, military and special voters who 34 vote by mail pursuant to the provisions of this section. 35 5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter eligibility 36 requirements for persons who vote by mail. 37 6. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorize the state 38 board of elections to contravene the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 39 Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20302 et seq.). 40 § 9. Sections 8-408 and 8-706 of the election law are REPEALED and a 41 new section 8-318 is added to read as follows: 42 § 8-318. Ballots; electronic mail ballot application transmittal 43 system. 1. In addition to any other means of applying for an early mail, 44 absentee, military or special voters' ballot, the state board of 45 elections shall establish and maintain an electronic early mail, absen- 46 tee, military and special voters' ballot application transmittal system 47 through which persons who vote by mail may apply for an early mail, 48 absentee, military or special voters' ballot online. The state board of 49 elections shall electronically transmit such applications to the appli- 50 cable board of elections of each county or the city of New York for 51 processing consistent with this chapter. In accordance with technical 52 specifications provided by the state board of elections, each board of 53 elections shall maintain an early mail, absentee, military and special 
 S. 8644 9 1 voters' application system capable of receiving and processing electron- 2 ic early mail, absentee, military and special voters' ballot applica- 3 tions, including, but not limited to, electronic signatures, from the 4 electronic early mail, absentee, military and special voters' ballot 5 application transmittal system established by the state board of 6 elections pursuant to this section. Such transmittal system shall be 7 fully integrated with each county board of elections and the city of New 8 York board of elections so that a voter may apply online directly either 9 through the website of their board of elections or the state board of 10 elections. Notwithstanding any other inconsistent provision of this 11 chapter, applications filed using such system shall be considered filed 12 with the applicable board of elections on the calendar date the applica- 13 tion is initially transmitted by the voter through the electronic early 14 mail, absentee, military and special voters' ballot application trans- 15 mittal system. 16 2. (a) A voter shall be able to apply for an early mail, absentee, 17 military or special voters' ballot using a personal online application 18 submitted through the electronic early mail, absentee, military and 19 special voters' ballot application transmittal system when the voter: 20 (i) completes an electronic early mail, absentee, military or special 21 voters' ballot application promulgated by the state board of elections; 22 and 23 (ii) affirms, subject to penalty of perjury, by means of electronic or 24 manual signature, that the information contained in the early mail, 25 absentee, military or special voters' ballot application is true; and 26 (iii) consents to the use of an electronic copy of the individual's 27 manual signature that is in the custody of the department of motor vehi- 28 cles, the state board of elections, or other agency designated by 29 section 5-211 or 5-212 of this chapter, as the individual's early mail, 30 absentee, military or special voters' ballot exemplar signature, or 31 provides such a signature by direct upload in a manner that complies 32 with the New York state electronic signature and records act and the 33 rules and regulations promulgated by the state board of elections. 34 (b) The board of elections shall provide the personal online early 35 mail, absentee, military and special voters' ballot application in any 36 language required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 37 Sec. 10503) in any county in the state. 38 (c) The online early mail, absentee, military and special voters' 39 ballot application process shall provide reasonable accommodations to 40 improve accessibility for persons with disabilities and shall be compat- 41 ible for use with standard online accessibility assistance tools for 42 persons with visual, physical or perceptive disabilities. 43 (d) The state board of elections shall promulgate rules and regu- 44 lations for the creation and administration of an early mail, absentee, 45 military and special voters' ballot application system pursuant to this 46 section. 47 3. (a) If an early mail, absentee, military or special voters' ballot 48 exemplar signature is not provided by an applicant who submits an early 49 mail, absentee, military or special voters' ballot application pursuant 50 to this section, the local board shall seek to obtain such exemplar 51 signature from the statewide voter registration database, the state 52 board of elections, or a state or local agency designated by section 53 5-211 or 5-212 of this chapter. 54 (b) If such exemplar signature is not available from the statewide 55 voter registration database, the state board of elections, or a state or 56 local agency designated by section 5-211 or 5-212 of this chapter, the 
 S. 8644 10 1 local board of elections shall, absent another reason to reject the 2 application, require the voter to provide an exemplar signature by any 3 one of the following methods: in person, by electronic mail, or by elec- 4 tronic upload to the board of elections through the electronic early 5 mail, absentee, military and special voters' ballot application trans- 6 mittal system. 7 (c) If such voter does not provide the required exemplar signature, 8 the board of elections shall proceed to issue an early mail, absentee, 9 military or special voters' ballot to the voter along with an early 10 mail, absentee, military or special voters' ballot application form 11 requiring such voter to submit a signature upon such application form 12 and return it to the board of elections with the voter's ballot. 13 4. The electronic early mail, absentee, military and special voters' 14 ballot application transmittal system shall be combined on a single 15 website. 16 § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.