Provides that if the board of elections determines that a person was entitled to vote it shall cast and canvass such ballot if such board finds that the voter substantially complied with the requirements of the election law; failure to provide previous address not deemed a fatal defect and ballot cast and counted.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1320A
SPONSOR: Cahill (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the election law, in relation to
canvass of ballots cast by certain voters
PURPOSE:
This bill will help to ensure that qualified voters have their affidavit
ballots cast and canvassed by boards of election.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 2a of § 9-209 of the election
law by adding a new paragraph (v) that requires boards of election to
cast and canvass a voters affidavit ballot if it substantially complies
with the requirements of this chapter.
Section 2 of this bill amends subdivision 2a of § 9-209 of the election
law by adding a new paragraph (vi) that provides that if a voter does
not include their previous address on the affidavit ballot envelope, it
shall not be considered a fatal defect, provided that the statewide
voter registration system provides sufficient information to identify
the voter. In such instances, the board shall cast and canvass such
ballot accordingly.
Section 3 of this bill is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current law, the requirement that previous address information be
included by voter needing to utilize an affidavit ballot can be an
unnecessary obstacle to a person's exercising their right to vote. The
role of the affidavit ballot is to allow a person - swearing under
penalty of perjury that they are registered to vote, they remain a duly
qualified voter in the election district, and that their poll records,
through no fault of their own, have been omitted or misplaced from the
system utilized by the local board of elections - to cast their vote on
a paper ballot.
The bill also includes "substantial compliance" language for review of
adherence to this section of law. This provision redresses the on-going
practice of utilizing technical legal challenges to affidavit ballots in
an all-too-often successful effort to deny a person their constitutional
right to vote.
This language will allow the validity of the ballot to be determined
based upon compliance with the language of the statute and the actions
and intentions of the voter, without limiting the state's ability to
protect against voter fraud.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-2018: A.7484 - Referred to Election Law
2015-2016: A.2098 - Referred to Election Law
2013-2014: A.6817 - Referred to Elections
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None;
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
