§ 7-122 — Ballots; absentee voters

§ 7-122. Ballots; absentee voters. 1. (a) Ballots for absentee voters\nshall be, as nearly as practicable, in the same form as those to be\nvoted in the district on election day, except that such ballots need not\nhave a stub, and shall have the words "Absentee Ballot", endorsed\nthereon.\n (b) All provisions of this chapter not inconsistent with this\nsubdivision shall be applicable to absentee ballots prepared for\ncounting by a ballot scanner or by hand. The instructions for marking an\nabsentee ballot shall be provided and shall be substantially as follows,\nso that they accurately reflect the ballot layout:\n INSTRUCTIONS\n Mark the (insert "oval" or "square") to the left of the name of your\nchoice. (Provide illustration of correctly-marked voting position here.)\nTo vote for a candidate whose name is not printed on the ballot, (insert\n"mark the oval (or square) to the left of 'write-in' and print the name\nclearly" or "print the name clearly in the box labeled 'write-in'"),\nstaying within the box. Any mark or writing outside the spaces provided\nfor voting may void the entire ballot. You have a right to a replacement\nballot. If you make a mistake or want to change your vote, call the\nboard of elections at (insert phone number here) for instructions on how\nto obtain a new ballot. The number of choices is listed for each\ncontest. Do not mark the ballot for more candidates than allowed. If you\ndo, your vote in that contest will not count.\n (c) When a question or proposal is included on the ballot,\ninstructions substantially similar to those provided in subdivision\nfifteen of section 7-104 of this article shall be included.\n 2. The determination of the appropriate county board of elections as\nto the candidates duly designated or nominated for public office or\nparty position whose name shall appear on the absentee ballot and as to\nballot proposals to be voted on shall be made no later than the day\nafter the state board of elections issues its certification of those\ncandidates to be voted for at the general, special or primary election.\nThe determinations of the state board of elections and the respective\ncounty boards of elections shall be final and conclusive with respect to\nsuch offices for which petitions or certificates are required to be\nfiled with such boards, as the case may be but nothing herein contained\nshall prevent a board of elections, or a court of competent jurisdiction\nfrom determining at a later date that any such certification,\ndesignation or nomination is invalid and, in the event of such later\ndetermination, no vote cast for any such nominee by any voter shall be\ncounted at the election.\n 3. There shall be three envelopes for each absentee ballot issued by\nmail: the inner affirmation envelope into which a voter places his or\nher voted ballot, the outer envelope which shall be addressed to the\nabsentee voter, and the mailing envelope which is addressed to the\ncounty board of elections. The board of elections shall furnish with\neach absentee ballot an inner affirmation envelope. On one side of the\nenvelope shall be printed:\n OFFICIAL ABSENTEE BALLOT\n for\n GENERAL (OR PRIMARY OR SPECIAL) ELECTION,\n ........., 20.....\nName of voter.........................................\nResidence (street and number if any)..................\nCity/or town of.......(village, if any)...............\nCounty of.............................................\nAssembly district ....................................\nLegislative District (as applicable) .................\nWard (as applicable) .................................\nElection District.....................................\nParty Enrollment (in case of primary election)........\n 4. The date of the election, name of the county, and name of a city,\nif there be a separate ballot for city voters, shall be printed, and the\nname of the voter, residence, number of the assembly district, if any,\nname of town, number of ward, if any, election district and party\nenrollment, if required, shall be either printed or written or stamped\nin by the board.\n 5. There shall also be a place for two board of elections staff\nmembers or inspectors of opposite political parties to indicate, by\nplacing their initials thereon, that they have checked and marked the\nvoter's poll record and a box labeled "BOE use only" for notations\nrequired when the board of elections reviews affirmation ballot\nenvelopes pursuant to section 9-209 of this chapter.\n 6. On the reverse side of such inner affirmation envelope shall be\nprinted the following statement:\n AFFIRMATION\n I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States, that I am duly\nregistered in the election district shown on the reverse side of this\nenvelope and I am qualified to vote in such district; that I will be\nunable to appear personally on the day of the election for which this\nballot is voted at the polling place of the election district in which I\nam a qualified voter because of the reason given on my application\nheretofore submitted; that I have not qualified nor do I intend to vote\nelsewhere, that I have not committed any act nor am I under any\nimpediment which denies me the right 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.\nDate.................20..... .....................................\n Signature or mark of voter\n .....................................\n Signature of Witness (required only\n if voter does not sign his or her own\n name)\n .....................................\n Address of Witness\n 7. The inner affirmation envelope shall be gummed, ready for sealing,\nand shall have printed thereon, on the side opposite the statement,\ninstructions as to the duties of the voter after the marking of the\nballot, which instructions shall include a specific direction stating\nwhen such ballot must be postmarked and when such ballot must reach the\noffice of the board of elections in order to be canvassed.\n 8. Each inner affirmation ballot envelope shall be enclosed in an\nouter envelope addressed to the appropriate board of elections and\nbearing on it a specific direction that if an original application for\nan absentee ballot is received with the ballot, such application must be\ncompleted by the voter and returned in the outer envelope together with\nthe sealed inner affirmation envelope containing the absentee ballot\nwithin the time limits for receipt of the absentee ballot itself. Such\ninner affirmation envelope and outer envelope shall be enclosed in the\nthird envelope addressed to the absentee voter. The outer and third\nenvelopes shall have printed on the face thereof the words "Election\nMaterial--Please Expedite".\n