N.Y. Educ. Law § 2018-b

§ 2018-b. Absentee ballots for school district elections by poll\nregistration. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two\nthousand fourteen and two thousand eighteen-a of this article, the\ntrustees or the board of education of any common, union free, central or\ncentral high school district which does not provide for the personal\nregistration of voters for school district meetings and elections but\nwhich elects trustees or school board members by ballot, shall provide\nfor absentee ballots for the election of the trustees or members of the\nboard and school district public library trustees, the adoption of the\nannual budget and school district public library budget and referenda.\n 1-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two thousand fourteen\nand two thousand eighteen-a of this article, in any county with a\npopulation of one million or more, the trustees or the board of\neducation of any common, union free, central or central high school\ndistrict which does not provide for the personal registration of voters\nfor school district meetings and elections but which elects trustees or\nschool board members by ballot shall provide for absentee ballots for\nthe election of the trustees or members of the board and school district\npublic library trustees, the adoption of the annual budget and school\ndistrict public library budget and referenda.\n 2. a. An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an\napplication setting forth (1) his name and residence address, including\nthe street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any;\n(2) that he is or will be, on the day of the school district election, a\nqualified voter of the school district in which he resides in that he is\nor will be, on such date, over eighteen years of age, a citizen of the\nUnited States and has or will have resided in the district for thirty\ndays next preceding such date; (3) that he will be unable to appear to\nvote in person on the day of the school district election for which the\nabsentee ballot is requested because he is, or will be on such day (a) a\npatient in a hospital, or unable to appear personally at the polling\nplace on such day because of illness or physical disability or (b)\nbecause his duties, occupation, business, or studies will require him to\nbe outside of the county or city of his residence on such day, (c)\nbecause he will be on vacation outside the county or city of his\nresidence on such day; or, (d) absent from his voting residence because\nhe is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial\nor is confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a\nfelony. Such application must be received by the district clerk or\ndesignee of the trustees or school board at least seven days before the\nelection if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before\nthe election, if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter.\n b. (1) Where such duties, occupation, business, or studies are of such\na nature as ordinarily to require such absence, a brief description of\nsuch duties, occupation, business, or studies shall be set forth in such\napplication.\n (2) Where such duties, occupation, business, or studies are not of\nsuch a nature as ordinarily to require such absence, such application\nshall contain a statement of the special circumstances on account of\nwhich such absence is required.\n c. Where the applicant expects in good faith to be absent on the day\nof the election because he will be on vacation elsewhere on such day,\nsuch application shall also contain the dates upon which he expects to\nbegin and end such vacation, the place or places where he expects to be\non such vacation, the name and address of his employer, if any, and if\nself-employed or retired, a statement to that effect.\n d. Where the absence is because of detention or confinement to jail,\nsuch application shall state whether the voter is detained awaiting\naction of the grand jury or is confined after conviction for an offense\nother than a felony.\n e. Where a person is or would be, if he were a qualified voter,\nentitled to apply for the right to vote by absentee ballot under the\nprovisions of this section, his spouse, parent or child, if a qualified\nvoter and a resident of the same school district, shall be entitled to\nvote as an absentee voter upon personally making and signing an\napplication in accordance with the preceding provisions of this\nsubdivision and showing that he expects to be absent from the school\ndistrict on the day of the school district election by reason of\naccompanying or being with the spouse, child or parent who is or would\nbe, if he were a qualified voter, so entitled to apply for the right to\nvote by absentee ballot, and, in the event no application is made by\nsuch spouse, child or parent, such further information as the clerk of\nthe school district or designee of the trustees or school board shall\nrequire.\n f. Such application shall include the following statement to be signed\nby the voter.\n I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of\nmy knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material\nfalse statement in the foregoing statement of application for absentee\nballots, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.\nDate......................Signature of Voter ...........................\n g. The clerk of the school district or a designee of the trustees or\nschool board shall request registration lists from the board of\nelections pursuant to subdivision three of section 5-612 of the election\nlaw for those voters whose registration record has been marked\n"permanently disabled". An applicant whose ability to appear personally\nat the polling place of the school district of which he is a qualified\nvoter is substantially impaired by reason of permanent illness or\nphysical disability and whose registration record has been marked\n"permanently disabled" as determined by the board of elections pursuant\nto the provisions of this chapter and who has previously applied for an\nabsentee ballot shall be entitled to receive subsequent absentee ballots\npursuant to the provisions of this section without making separate\napplication for such absentee ballot, and the clerk of the school\ndistrict or a designee of the trustees or school board shall send an\nabsentee ballot to such voter at his last known address with a request\nto the postal authorities not to forward same but to return same in five\ndays in the event that it cannot be delivered to the addressee. The\nclerk of the school district or a designee of the trustees or school\nboard shall determine whether such ballot shall be sent by first class\nor by certified mail. All such ballots shall be mailed in the same\nmanner as determined by the trustees or the board of education.\n 3. If, upon examining the application required under the provisions of\nsubdivision two of this section, and upon such inquiry as it deems\nproper, the clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or\nschool board shall be satisfied that the applicant is a qualified voter\nof the district, and entitled to vote by absentee ballot, such clerk of\nthe school district or designee of the trustees or school board shall\ncause to be issued or mailed to the applicant an absentee voter's ballot\nand the clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or\nschool board shall make an appropriate entry on the poll list pursuant\nto section two thousand twenty-nine of this article.\n 4. The clerk of the school district or a designee of the trustees or\nschool board shall also mail an absentee ballot to every qualified voter\notherwise eligible for such ballot, who requests an absentee ballot from\nsuch clerk or trustees or school board designee in a letter which is\nsigned by the voter and received by the clerk or trustees or school\nboard designee not earlier than the thirtieth day nor later than the\nseventh day before the election for which the ballot is first requested\nand which states the address where the voter resides and to which the\nballot is to be mailed. The clerk or designee of the trustees or school\nboard shall enclose with such ballot a form of application for absentee\nballot. The absentee ballot of a voter who requested such ballot by\nletter, rather than application, shall not be counted unless a valid\napplication form, signed by such voter, is received by the clerk of the\nschool district or designee of the trustees or school board with such\nballot.\n 5. Ballots for absentee voters shall be, as nearly as practicable, in\nthe same form as those to be voted at the district election; if the vote\nat such election shall be by ballot, the absentee ballot shall conform\nto the regular ballot; if the vote of such election shall be by voting\nmachine, the absentee ballot shall conform as closely as possible to the\nmanner in which the names of the candidates, the questions and the\npropositions appear on the voting machines, except that the absentee\nballot shall also contain a space for a write-in or write-ins. On the\nback of such absentee ballots shall be printed words "Official Ballot,\nAbsentee Voter."\n 6. a. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or\nschool board shall enclose each absentee voter's ballot in an envelope\nwhich shall be labelled:\n ELECTION MATERIAL\n PLEASE EXPEDITE\n On one side of such envelope shall be printed:\n OFFICIAL BALLOT, ABSENTEE VOTER\n for\n School District Election\nName of Voter ..........................................................\nResidence (street and number, if any) ..................................\nCity (or Town) of ......................................................\nCounty of ..............................................................\nSchool District ........................................................\nSchool Election District (if applicable) ...............................\n The date of the election and name of the school district shall be\nprinted, and the name of the voter, residence, school district and\nschool election district (if applicable) shall be included.\n b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the following\nstatement:\n STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER\n I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States, and will be at\nleast eighteen years of age on the date of the school district election;\nthat I will have been a resident of this state and of the school\ndistrict and school election district, if any, shown on the reverse side\nof this envelope for thirty days next preceding the said election and\nthat I am or on such date will be, a qualified voter of said school\ndistrict; that I will be unable to appear personally on the day of said\nschool district election at the polling place of the said district in\nwhich I am or will be a qualified voter because of the reason stated on\nmy application heretofore submitted; that I have not qualified, or do I\nintend to vote, elsewhere than as set forth on the reverse side of this\nenvelope; that I have not received or offered, do not expect to receive,\nhave not paid, offered or promised to pay, contributed, offered or\npromised to contribute to another to be paid or used, any money or other\nvaluable thing, as a compensation or reward for the giving or\nwithholding of a vote at this school district election, and have not\nmade any promise to influence the giving or withholding of any such\nvotes; that I have not made or become directly or indirectly interested\nin any bet or wager depending upon the result of this school district\nelection; and that I have not been convicted of bribery or any infamous\ncrime, or, if so convicted, that I have been pardoned or restored to all\nthe rights of a citizen, without restriction as to the right of\nsuffrage, or have received a certificate of relief from disabilities or\na certificate of good conduct pursuant to article twenty-three of the\ncorrection law removing my disability to vote.\n I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of\nmy knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material\nfalse statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be\nguilty of a misdemeanor.\n Date....................Signature of Voter ...........................\n c. The envelope shall be gummed, ready for sealing, and shall have\nprinted thereon, on the side opposite the statement, instructions as to\nthe duties of the voter after the marking of the ballot, which\ninstructions shall include a specific direction stating that the\nenvelope must reach the office of the clerk of the school district or\ndesignee of the trustees or school board not later than five P.M. on the\nday of the election in order that his vote may be canvassed.\n d. A person who shall make any material false statement in the\nstatement of the absentee voter appearing on the reverse side of the\nenvelope as provided in this subdivision, shall be guilty of a\nmisdemeanor.\n 7. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or\nschool board shall make a list of all persons to whom absentee voter's\nballots shall have been issued and maintain such list where it shall be\navailable for public inspection during regular office hours until the\nday of the election. Any qualified voter may, upon examination of such\nlist, file a written challenge of the qualifications as a voter of any\nperson whose name appears on such list, stating the reasons for such\nchallenge. Such written challenge shall be transmitted by the clerk or\nthe designee of the trustees or school board to the inspectors of\nelection on election day.\n 8. a. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or\nschool board shall be authorized to call upon the commissioner of police\nand the officers and members of the police force for such assistance in\nthe enforcement of the provisions of this section as such trustees or\nboard shall require, and such commissioner and officers and members of\nthe police force shall be authorized to render such assistance.\n b. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or\nschool board may require any person to attend before it at the office of\nthe clerk of the school district or the office of the designee of the\ntrustees or school board and be examined by the trustees or board as to\nany matter in relation to which such trustees or board is charged with a\nduty under this section, and may issue a subpoena therefor. Each member\nof such trustees or board shall be authorized to administer any oath\nthat may be required or authorized by law in this connection.\n 9. No absentee voter's ballot shall be canvassed, unless it shall have\nbeen received in the office of the clerk of the school district or\ndesignee of the trustees or school board not later than five P.M. on the\nday of the election.\n 10. The clerk of the district or designee of the trustees or school\nboard shall, on the day of the election, transmit all absentee voters'\nenvelopes, received by him in accordance with subdivision eight of this\nsection, to the inspectors of election.\n 11. If a person whose name is on an envelope as a voter shall have\nalready voted in person at such school district election, or if there is\nno signature on the envelope, this envelope shall be laid aside unopened\nand be returned unopened to the clerk of the district or designee of the\ntrustees or school board. If such person has not so voted in person, and\nif no objection is made, or if an objection made be not sustained, the\nenvelope shall be opened and the ballot withdrawn without unfolding and\ndeposited in the proper box or boxes.\n 12. If the inspectors of election shall have received an envelope, and\nupon opening the same no ballot shall be found therein, the inspectors\nshall make a memorandum showing that the ballot is missing. When the\ncasting of absentee voters' ballots shall have been completed, the\ninspectors shall ascertain the number of such ballots which have been\ndeposited in the ballot box by deducting from the number of envelopes\nopened the number of missing ballots, and shall make a separate return\nthereof in duplicate. The number of absentee voters' ballots deposited\nin the ballot box shall be added to the number of other ballots to be\naccounted for in the ballot box. Such ballots shall then be counted or\ncanvassed by the inspectors of election along with the other ballots\ncast at such school district election, or, where voting machines are\nused, shall be added to the votes recorded on such machines.\n