§ 8-700 — Early voting by mail; application for ballot

§ 8-700. Early voting by mail; application for ballot. 1. A registered\nvoter may apply to the county board of elections in the county in which\nthey are registered, or to the board of elections of the city of New\nYork, if registered in the city of New York, to vote early by mail under\nthis title in any election conducted by the board of elections in which\nthe voter is eligible to vote.\n 2. A registered voter who desires to vote early by mail at an election\nmust make an application to vote early by mail on a form to be obtained\nand filed as provided in this section, by letter as provided in\nparagraph (d) of this subdivision, or through the electronic early mail\nballot application transmittal system pursuant to section 8-706 of this\ntitle.\n (a) Application forms to vote early by mail shall be furnished by and\nmay be obtained from any board of elections at any time until the day\nbefore such election, or on the electronic early mail ballot application\ntransmittal system. Application forms shall also be supplied by the\nboard of inspectors of the election district in which the applicant is a\nregistered voter on all of the days provided for local registration. In\naddition, application forms shall be supplied upon the request of the\nperson authorized to vote pursuant to this section, any such person's\nspouse, parent or child, a person residing with the applicant as a\nmember of their household, or the applicant's duly authorized agent.\nApplication forms sent outside of the United States to a country other\nthan Canada or Mexico, shall be sent by airmail. Any reference to "board\nof elections" in the remaining provisions of this section, except with\nrespect to the furnishing and obtaining of applications to vote early by\nmail, means only the board of elections of the county or city in which\nthe applicant is a registered voter.\n (b) Applications may be filed with the board of elections, through the\nelectronic early mail ballot application transmittal system or in person\nwith the board of inspectors of the election district in which the\napplicant is a registered voter on one of the days provided for local\nregistration.\n (c) All applications requesting to vote early by mail transmitted by\nmail or through the electronic early mail ballot application transmittal\nsystem must be received by the board of elections not later than the\ntenth day before the election for which a ballot is first requested.\nApplications to vote early by mail delivered in person at the board of\nelections must be received by such board not later than the day before\nsuch election.\n (d) The board of elections shall mail an early mail ballot to every\nregistered voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests such\nan early mail ballot from such board of elections in writing in a\nletter, telefax indicating the address, phone number and the telefax\nnumber from which the writing is sent or other written instrument, or\nthrough an electronic application submitted by the voter through the\nelectronic early mail ballot application transmittal system established\nby the state board of elections, which is signed by the voter and\nreceived by the board of elections not later than the tenth day before\nthe election for which the ballot is first requested and which states\nthe address where the voter is registered and the address to which the\nballot is to be mailed.\n (e) When mailing an early mail ballot application to a voter the board\nof elections shall provide a domestic postage paid return envelope. When\nproviding an early mail ballot application to a voter in-person, the\nboard of elections shall offer the voter a domestic postage paid return\nenvelope and provide one if requested.\n 3. The application for an early mail ballot when filed must contain in\neach instance the following information:\n (a) Applicant's full name, date of birth, and residence address,\nincluding the street and number, if any, rural delivery route, if any,\nmailing address if different from the residence address and their town\nor city and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed.\n (b) A statement that the applicant is a registered voter in the county\nor city where they are applying to vote early by mail.\n 4. The application for an early mail ballot shall also provide the\napplicant the opportunity to provide their telephone number and e-mail\naddress.\n 5. The application for an early mail ballot shall also provide the\napplicant the opportunity to request to receive an early mail ballot for\nall remaining elections in the calendar year in which the applicant is\neligible to vote. If an applicant indicates in the application for an\nearly mail ballot that they wish to receive an early mail ballot for all\nremaining elections in the calendar year, upon filing of such\napplication, the board of elections shall indicate such request in the\nvoter's registration record. When early mail ballots are mailed for\nsubsequent elections in the calendar year in which the voter is eligible\nto vote, the board of elections shall mail an early mail ballot to the\nvoter at their last known address by first class mail with a request to\nthe postal authorities not to forward such ballot but to return it in\nfive days in the event that it cannot be delivered to the addressee.\nHowever, the board shall not be required to mail an early mail ballot\npursuant to this section if the voter's registration has been canceled\nsince the filing of such application.\n 6. The application for an early mail ballot shall contain the\nfollowing language printed in bold face directly above the signature\nline: "I CERTIFY THAT THE INFORMATION IN THIS APPLICATION IS TRUE AND\nCORRECT AND UNDERSTAND THAT THIS APPLICATION WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR ALL\nPURPOSES AS THE EQUIVALENT OF AN AFFIDAVIT AND, IF IT CONTAINS A\nMATERIAL FALSE STATEMENT, SHALL SUBJECT ME TO THE SAME PENALTIES AS IF I\nHAD BEEN DULY SWORN." Such application shall be accepted for all\npurposes as the equivalent of an affidavit and if it contains a material\nfalse statement shall subject the person signing it to the same\npenalties as if he or she had been duly sworn.\n 7. For purposes of this section, the use of titles, initials or\ncustomary abbreviations of given names by the signers or witnesses of an\nearly mail ballot application or early mail ballot envelope, or the use\nof customary abbreviations of addresses of such signers or witnesses,\nshall not invalidate such voter's signature or witness's signature on an\napplication for early mail ballot or upon canvass or recanvass of the\nballot pursuant to this chapter.\n 8. (a) If a person entitled to an early mail ballot is unable to sign\ntheir application because of illness, physical disability or inability\nto read, they shall be excused from signing upon making a statement, in\nsubstantially the following form, which shall be witnessed by one\nperson:\n"I hereby state that I am unable to sign my application for an early\nmail ballot without assistance because I am unable to write by reason of\nillness or physical disability or because I am unable to read. I have\nmade, or have received assistance in making, my mark in lieu of my\nsignature."\n .................\n (Date)\n .................\n (Mark)\n .................\n (Name of Voter)\n"I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the above named voter affixed\ntheir mark to this application in my presence and I know them to be the\nperson who affixed their mark to said application and understand that\nthis statement will be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an\naffidavit and if it contains a material false statement, shall subject\nme to the same penalties as if I had been duly sworn."\n ......................\n (Signature of Witness)\n ......................\n (Address of Witness)\n (b) Such statement shall be included in the application form furnished\nby the board of elections.\n 9. Printed forms of applications for early mail ballots in accordance\nwith the requirements of this section shall be provided by the board of\nelections. An appropriate number shall be retained by the board of\nelections for the purpose of furnishing an application form to each\nregistered voter who applies therefor before the board of elections,\neither in person or by mail, and an appropriate number shall be\ndelivered to each board of inspectors on registration days with the\nelection supplies, and the board of inspectors shall retain the\ncompleted and unused applications and return them to the board of\nelections with their election supplies and an appropriate number shall\nbe available for distribution to officers of political parties, county\nclerks, city, town and village clerks, colleges, libraries, and any\nother convenient distribution source which is approved by the local or\nstate board of elections and which requests such forms.\n 10. The state board of elections shall prescribe a standard\napplication form for use under this section. The use of any application\nform which substantially complies with the provisions of this section\nshall be acceptable and any application filed on such a form shall be\naccepted for filing.\n