§ 2018-F — Early mail ballots for school district elections by poll registration

§ 2018-f. Early mail ballots for school district elections by poll\nregistration. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two thousand\nfourteen and two thousand eighteen-e of this part, the trustees or the\nboard of education of any common, union free, central or central high\nschool district which does not provide for the personal registration of\nvoters for school district meetings and elections but which elects\ntrustees or school board members by ballot, shall provide for early mail\nballots for the election of the trustees or members of the board and\nschool district public library trustees, the adoption of the annual\nbudget and school district public library budget and referenda.\n 1-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two thousand fourteen\nand two thousand eighteen-e of this part, 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 early mail 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 early mail ballot shall submit an\napplication setting forth (1) their name and residence address,\nincluding the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery\nroute, if any; (2) that they are or will be, on the day of the school\ndistrict election, a qualified voter of the school district in which he\nresides in that he is or will be, on such date, over eighteen years of\nage, a citizen of the United States and has or will have resided in the\ndistrict for thirty days next preceding such date. Such application must\nbe received by the district clerk or designee of the trustees or school\nboard at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be\nmailed to the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to\nbe delivered personally to the voter.\n b. 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 early mail\nballot, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.\nDate ................... Signature of Voter ............................\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 early mail ballot, such clerk\nof the school district or designee of the trustees or school board shall\ncause to be issued or mailed to the applicant an early mail voter's\nballot and the clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees\nor school board shall make an appropriate entry on the poll list\npursuant to section two thousand twenty-nine of this part.\n 4. The clerk of the school district or a designee of the trustees or\nschool board shall also mail an early mail ballot to every qualified\nvoter otherwise eligible for such ballot, who requests an early mail\nballot from such clerk or trustees or school board designee in a letter\nwhich is signed by the voter and received by the clerk or trustees or\nschool board designee not earlier than the thirtieth day nor later than\nthe seventh day before the election for which the ballot is first\nrequested and which states the address where the voter resides and to\nwhich the ballot is to be mailed. The clerk or designee of the trustees\nor school board shall enclose with such ballot a form of application for\nearly mail ballot. The early mail ballot of a voter who requested such\nballot by letter, rather than application, shall not be counted unless a\nvalid application form, signed by such voter, is received by the clerk\nof the school district or designee of the trustees or school board with\nsuch ballot.\n 5. Ballots for early mail voters shall be, as nearly as practicable,\nin the same form as those to be voted at the district election; if the\nvote at such election shall be by ballot, the early mail ballot shall\nconform to the regular ballot; if the vote of such election shall be by\nvoting machine, the early mail ballot shall conform as closely as\npossible to the manner in which the names of the candidates, the\nquestions and the propositions appear on the voting machines, except\nthat the early mail ballot shall also contain a space for a write-in or\nwrite-ins. On the back of such early mail ballots shall be printed words\n"Official Ballot, Early Mail Voter".\n 6. a. The clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or\nschool board shall enclose each early mail 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, EARLY MAIL 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 EARLY MAIL 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 have not qualified, or do I intend to vote, elsewhere\nthan as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I have not\nreceived or offered, do not expect to receive, have not paid, offered or\npromised to pay, contributed, offered or promised to contribute to\nanother to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing, as a\ncompensation or reward for the giving or withholding of a vote at this\nschool district election, and have not made any promise to influence the\ngiving or withholding of any such votes; that I have not made or become\ndirectly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the\nresult of this school district election; and that I have not been\nconvicted of bribery or any infamous crime, or, if so convicted, that I\nhave been pardoned or restored to all the rights of a citizen, without\nrestriction as to the right of suffrage, or have received a certificate\nof relief from disabilities or a certificate of good conduct pursuant to\narticle twenty-three of the correction law removing my disability to\nvote.\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 early mail voter, I shall\nbe guilty of a misdemeanor.\nDate .................. 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 their vote may be canvassed.\n d. A person who shall make any material false statement in the\nstatement of the early mail 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 early mail 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. A challenge to an early mail ballot may not be made on the\nbasis that the voter should have applied for an absentee ballot. Such\nwritten challenge shall be transmitted by the clerk or the designee of\nthe trustees or school board to the inspectors of election on election\nday.\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 early mail voter's ballot shall be canvassed, unless it shall\nhave been 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 early mail 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 early mail 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 early mail 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