§ 84-B — Early mail ballots for special town elections; special provisions

§ 84-b. Early mail ballots for special town elections; special\nprovisions. 1. Early mail ballots shall be provided for all special town\nelections for which personal registration is required.\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 election,\na qualified voter of the town in which they reside; and (3) that they\nare registered in the town. Such application must be received by the\ntown clerk at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to\nbe mailed to the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is\nto be delivered personally to the voter or their agent.\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\nballots, 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 board of inspectors shall be satisfied that the applicant is\na qualified voter of the town, and entitled to vote by early mail\nballot, such board of inspectors shall place their name upon a list,\nthereupon the applicant shall be issued or mailed an early mail ballot\nand the town clerk shall make an appropriate entry on the list\nindicating that an early mail ballot has been applied for by, and issued\nto, the applicant.\n 4. Ballots for early mail voters shall be, as nearly as practicable,\nin the same form as those to be voted at the town election. On the back\nof such early mail ballots shall be printed the words "Official Ballot,\nEarly Mail Voter".\n 5. a. The board of registration shall enclose each early mail voter's\nballot in an envelope which shall be labelled:\n ELECTION MATERIAL\n PLEASE EXPEDITE\nOn one side of such envelope shall be printed:\n OFFICIAL BALLOT, EARLY MAIL VOTER\n for\n Special Town Election\nName of Voter ................\nResidence (street and number, if any) .......\nTown of ....................\nCounty of ...................\n The date of the election and name of the town shall be printed, and\nthe name of the voter, residence and district shall be written in by the\ntown clerk.\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 will have been a citizen of the United States for\nthirty days, and will be at least eighteen years of age, on the date of\nthe special town election; that I will have been a resident of this\nstate and of the town shown on the reverse side of this envelope for\nthirty days next preceding the said election; that I am or on such date\nwill be, a registered voter of said town; that I have not qualified, or\ndo I intend to vote, elsewhere than as set forth on the reverse side of\nthis envelope; that I have not received or offered, do not expect to\nreceive, have not paid, offered or promised to pay, contributed, offered\nor promised to contribute to another to be paid or used, any money or\nother valuable thing, as a compensation or reward for the giving or\nwithholding of a vote at this special town election, and have not made\nany promise to influence the giving or withholding of any such votes;\nthat I have not made or become directly or indirectly interested in any\nbet or wager depending upon the result of this special town election;\nand that I have not been convicted of bribery or any infamous crime, or,\nif so convicted, that I have been pardoned or restored to all the rights\nof a citizen, without restriction as to the right of suffrage, or\nreceived a certificate of relief from disabilities or a certificate of\ngood conduct pursuant to article twenty-three of the correction law\nremoving my disability to register and 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 early mail voter, I shall\nbe guilty 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 town clerk not later than five\nP.M. on the day of the election in order that their vote may be\ncanvassed.\n d. A person who shall make any material false statement in the\nstatement of early mail voter appearing on the reverse side of the\nenvelope as provided in this subdivision, shall be guilty of a\nmisdemeanor.\n 6. a. The town clerk shall make a list of all persons to whom early\nmail voter's ballots shall have been issued and keep such list on file\nin their office where it shall be available for public inspection during\nregular office hours until the day of the election. Any qualified voter\nmay, upon examination of such list, file a written challenge of the\nqualifications as a voter of any person whose name appears on such list,\nstating the reasons for such challenge. A challenge to an early mail\nballot may not be made on the basis that the voter should have applied\nfor an absentee ballot. Such written challenge shall be transmitted by\nthe town clerk to the inspectors of election on election day.\n b. Such list shall also be posted in a conspicuous place or places\nduring the election, and any qualified voter may challenge the\nacceptance of the early mail voter's ballot of any person on such list,\nby making their challenge and the reasons therefor known to the\ninspectors of election before the close of the polls.\n 7. a. The town clerk shall be authorized to call upon the commissioner\nof police and the officers and members of the police force for such\nassistance in the enforcement of the provisions of this section as he\nshall require, and such commissioner and officers and members of the\npolice force shall be authorized to render such assistance.\n b. The board of inspectors may require any person to attend before it\nat the office of the town clerk of the district and be examined as to\nany matter in relation to which such board is charged with a duty under\nthis section, and may issue a subpoena therefor. Each member of such\nboard of inspectors district shall be authorized to administer any oath\nthat may be required or authorized by law in this connection.\n 8. No early mail voter's ballot shall be canvassed, unless it shall\nhave been received in the office of the town clerk not later than five\nP.M. on the day of the election.\n 9. The town clerk shall, on the day of the election, transmit all\nearly mail voters' envelopes, received by him in accordance with\nsubdivision eight of this section, to the inspectors of election.\n 10. If, at the election, any early mail voters' envelopes shall have\nbeen received at the polling place, the inspectors of election\nimmediately after the closing of the polls shall examine them, and shall\ncompare the signature, if any, on each envelope with the signature, if\nany, on the register, of the person of the same name who registered from\nthe same address. If the signatures are found to correspond, the\ninspectors shall certify thereto by signing their initials opposite the\nname of the voter at the appropriate place in the register. If a person\nwhose name is on an envelope as a voter, shall have already voted in\nperson at such special town election, or if their name, residence and\nsignature, as stated on the envelope, are not on the register, or if\nthere is no signature on the envelope, this envelope shall be laid aside\nunopened and be returned unopened to the town clerk. If such person is\nfound to be registered and has not so voted in person, and if no\nobjection 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. At the time of the deposit of such\nballot, the inspectors shall enter the words "early mail vote" at an\nappropriate place in the register.\n 11. During such examination any qualified voter present in the polling\nplace may object to the voting of the ballot contained in any envelope\nupon the ground or grounds that the person named thereon is not a\nqualified voter of the town. An inspector shall make such an objection\nif he shall know or suspect that the person named on such envelope is\nnot such a qualified voter. The election inspectors shall forthwith\nproceed to determine each objection including any written challenge\ntransmitted to them by the town clerk as provided in subdivision six of\nthis section. Unless the inspectors, by majority vote, shall sustain the\nobjection, the chairman, or if he refuses, another inspector shall\nendorse upon the envelope the objection and the words "not sustained,"\nshall sign such endorsement, and shall open the envelope and deposit the\nballot as provided in this section. Should the inspectors, by majority\nvote, sustain such objection, the objection and word "sustained" shall\nbe similarly endorsed upon the envelope, the envelope shall not be\nopened nor the ballots therein canvassed, and such envelope shall be\nreturned unopened to the town clerk. If the inspectors of election shall\nhave received an envelope endorsed with the name of a person who to the\nknowledge of the inspectors is deceased on the day of the election, the\ninspectors shall return such envelope unopened to the town clerk with\nthe words "deceased--objection sustained" endorsed on the envelope.\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\ndeposited in the ballot box in order to determine the number of all\nballots to be accounted for in the ballot box. Such ballots shall then\nbe counted or canvassed by the inspectors of election along with the\nother ballots cast at such district election, or, where voting machines\nare used, shall be added to the votes recorded on such machines.\n 13. The provisions of this section shall apply to early mail ballots\nin special town elections, notwithstanding any other provision of law.\nThe provisions of any other law as they relate to special town elections\nnot inconsistent herewith shall apply to the conduct of such elections.\n