§ 2018-D — Military voters

§ 2018-d. Military voters. 1. As used in this section, the following\nterms shall have the following meanings:\n (a) "Military service" means the military service of the state, or of\nthe United States, including the army, navy, marine corps, air force,\ncoast guard, space force, merchant marine and all components thereof,\nand the coast and geodetic survey, the public health service, the\nnational guard when in the service of the United States pursuant to call\nas provided by law, and the cadets or midshipmen of the United States\nMilitary Academy, United States Naval Academy, United States Air Force\nAcademy, United States Merchant Marine Academy and United States Coast\nGuard Academy.\n (b) "Military voter" means a qualified voter of the state of New York\nwho is in actual military service, as defined in paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision, and by reason of such military service is absent from his\nor her district on the day of registration or election, or a voter who\nis discharged from such military service within thirty days of an\nelection and the spouse, parent, child or dependent of such voter\naccompanying or being with him or her, if a qualified voter and a\nresident of the same school district.\n (c) "Military ballot" means the ballot prepared, printed and supplied\nfor use by the military for the election of members of the board of\neducation and school district public library trustees, the adoption of\nthe annual budget and school district public library budget and\nreferenda.\n (d) "Military address" means the mailing address of a military voter\nother than his or her residence address in his or her school district.\n (e) "Appropriate school board of education" means the board of\neducation in whose jurisdiction the military voter resides as a\nqualified voter.\n 2. A military voter may designate a preference to receive a military\nballot by mail, facsimile transmission or electronic mail. Such\ndesignation shall remain in effect until revoked or changed by the\nmilitary voter. If a military voter does not designate a preference, the\nboard of education shall transmit the military ballot application or\nmilitary ballot by mail. If a military voter designates a preference for\nfacsimile transmission or electronic mail but does not provide the\nnecessary facsimile number or e-mail address, the board of education\nshall transmit the voter registration application, military ballot\napplication or military ballot by mail and request the omitted\ninformation. All communications to the military voter shall include the\nmailing address of the board of education.\n 3. Irrespective of the preferred method of transmission designated by\na military voter, a military voter's original military ballot\napplication and military ballot must be returned by mail or in person.\n 4. Ballots for military voters shall be mailed or otherwise\ndistributed by the board of education, in accordance with the preferred\nmethod of transmission, as soon as practicable, but not later than\ntwenty-five days before any election as provided in this article, and\nfourteen days before any election as provided in article fifty-three of\nthis title.\n 5. The military voter shall mark the military ballot provided for in\nthis article in the same manner as an absentee ballot. After marking the\nballot, he or she shall fold such ballot and enclose it in the inner\naffirmation envelope bearing the military voter's affirmation on the\noutside of the envelope and seal the envelope. He or she shall then sign\nthe affirmation, with the blanks properly filled in. The inner\naffirmation envelope containing the military ballot shall then be\ninserted in the outer envelope addressed to the appropriate board of\neducation, which shall be mailed or personally delivered to the\nappropriate board of education within the time limits provided by this\narticle.\n 6. The board of education shall cause all military ballots received by\nit before the close of the polls on election day and showing a\ncancellation mark of the United States postal service or a foreign\ncountry's postal service, or showing a dated endorsement of receipt by\nanother agency of the United States government or are signed and dated\nby the voter and one witness thereto, with a date which is ascertained\nto be not later than the day before election and which must be received\nin the office of the clerk of the school district not later than five\np.m. on the day of the election in order to be canvassed.\n 7. The board of inspectors shall thereafter process such ballots in\nthe same manner as provided in sections two thousand eighteen-a and two\nthousand eighteen-b of this article for the canvassing of absentee\nballots.\n 8. The board of education shall determine, three days before the first\nday for distribution of military ballots, the names of all candidates\nduly nominated for public office and the amendments, referenda,\npropositions and questions to be voted for on such ballots. If at a\nlater date the nomination of any candidate named on a military ballot is\nfound invalid, the ballot shall still be valid, but no vote cast for any\nsuch candidate on such ballot shall be counted at the election. The\nfailure of any school board to include the name of any candidate or any\nproposition or question on the military ballot shall in no way affect\nthe validity of the election with respect to the office for which the\nnomination was made or the validity of the military ballot as to any\nother matter.\n 9. The department is authorized to take such steps and do such things\nas, in its opinion, are necessary to make effective the provisions of\nany other section, in order to utilize fully any federal or other\nfacilities in the distribution of military ballots.\n 10. The provisions of this section shall be liberally construed for\nthe purpose of providing military voters the opportunity to vote. The\ndepartment shall have power to adopt and promulgate regulations to\neffectuate the provisions of this section.\n