Section 8-700 - Early voting by mail; application for ballot1. A registered voter may apply to the county board of elections in the county in which they are registered, or to the board of elections of the city of New York, if registered in the city of New York, to vote early by mail under this title in any election conducted by the board of elections in which the voter is eligible to vote.2. A registered voter who desires to vote early by mail at an election must make an application to vote early by mail on a form to be obtained and filed as provided in this section, by letter as provided in paragraph (d) of this subdivision, or through the electronic early mail ballot application transmittal system pursuant to section 8-706 of this title.(a) Application forms to vote early by mail shall be furnished by and may be obtained from any board of elections at any time until the day before such election, or on the electronic early mail ballot application transmittal system. Application forms shall also be supplied by the board of inspectors of the election district in which the applicant is a registered voter on all of the days provided for local registration. In addition, application forms shall be supplied upon the request of the person authorized to vote pursuant to this section, any such person's spouse, parent or child, a person residing with the applicant as a member of their household, or the applicant's duly authorized agent. Application forms sent outside of the United States to a country other than Canada or Mexico, shall be sent by airmail. Any reference to "board of elections" in the remaining provisions of this section, except with respect to the furnishing and obtaining of applications to vote early by mail, means only the board of elections of the county or city in which the applicant is a registered voter.(b) Applications may be filed with the board of elections, through the electronic early mail ballot application transmittal system or in person with the board of inspectors of the election district in which the applicant is a registered voter on one of the days provided for local registration.(c) All applications requesting to vote early by mail transmitted by mail or through the electronic early mail ballot application transmittal system must be received by the board of elections not later than the tenth day before the election for which a ballot is first requested. Applications to vote early by mail delivered in person at the board of elections must be received by such board not later than the day before such election.(d) The board of elections shall mail an early mail ballot to every registered voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests such an early mail ballot from such board of elections in writing in a letter, telefax indicating the address, phone number and the telefax number from which the writing is sent or other written instrument, or through an electronic application submitted by the voter through the electronic early mail ballot application transmittal system established by the state board of elections, which is signed by the voter and received by the board of elections not later than the tenth day before the election for which the ballot is first requested and which states the address where the voter is registered and the address to which the ballot is to be mailed.(e) When mailing an early mail ballot application to a voter the board of elections shall provide a domestic postage paid return envelope. When providing an early mail ballot application to a voter in-person, the board of elections shall offer the voter a domestic postage paid return envelope and provide one if requested.3. The application for an early mail ballot when filed must contain in each instance the following information: (a) Applicant's full name, date of birth, and residence address, including the street and number, if any, rural delivery route, if any, mailing address if different from the residence address and their town or city and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed.(b) A statement that the applicant is a registered voter in the county or city where they are applying to vote early by mail.4. The application for an early mail ballot shall also provide the applicant the opportunity to provide their telephone number and e-mail address.5. The application for an early mail ballot shall also provide the applicant the opportunity to request to receive an early mail ballot for all remaining elections in the calendar year in which the applicant is eligible to vote. If an applicant indicates in the application for an early mail ballot that they wish to receive an early mail ballot for all remaining elections in the calendar year, upon filing of such application, the board of elections shall indicate such request in the voter's registration record. When early mail ballots are mailed for subsequent elections in the calendar year in which the voter is eligible to vote, the board of elections shall mail an early mail ballot to the voter at their last known address by first class mail with a request to the postal authorities not to forward such ballot but to return it in five days in the event that it cannot be delivered to the addressee. However, the board shall not be required to mail an early mail ballot pursuant to this section if the voter's registration has been canceled since the filing of such application.6. The application for an early mail ballot shall contain the following language printed in bold face directly above the signature line: "I CERTIFY THAT THE INFORMATION IN THIS APPLICATION IS TRUE AND CORRECT AND UNDERSTAND THAT THIS APPLICATION WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR ALL PURPOSES AS THE EQUIVALENT OF AN AFFIDAVIT AND, IF IT CONTAINS A MATERIAL FALSE STATEMENT, SHALL SUBJECT ME TO THE SAME PENALTIES AS IF I HAD BEEN DULY SWORN." Such application shall be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit and if it contains a material false statement shall subject the person signing it to the same penalties as if he or she had been duly sworn.7. For purposes of this section, the use of titles, initials or customary abbreviations of given names by the signers or witnesses of an early mail ballot application or early mail ballot envelope, or the use of customary abbreviations of addresses of such signers or witnesses, shall not invalidate such voter's signature or witness's signature on an application for early mail ballot or upon canvass or recanvass of the ballot pursuant to this chapter.8.(a) If a person entitled to an early mail ballot is unable to sign their application because of illness, physical disability or inability to read, they shall be excused from signing upon making a statement, in substantially the following form, which shall be witnessed by one person: "I hereby state that I am unable to sign my application for an early mail ballot without assistance because I am unable to write by reason of illness or physical disability or because I am unable to read. I have made, or have received assistance in making, my mark in lieu of my signature."
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(Date) |
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(Mark) |
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(Name of Voter) |
"I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the above named voter affixed their mark to this application in my presence and I know them to be the person who affixed their mark to said application and understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit and if it contains a material false statement, shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been duly sworn."
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(Signature of Witness)
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(Address of Witness)
(b) Such statement shall be included in the application form furnished by the board of elections.9. Printed forms of applications for early mail ballots in accordance with the requirements of this section shall be provided by the board of elections. An appropriate number shall be retained by the board of elections for the purpose of furnishing an application form to each registered voter who applies therefor before the board of elections, either in person or by mail, and an appropriate number shall be delivered to each board of inspectors on registration days with the election supplies, and the board of inspectors shall retain the completed and unused applications and return them to the board of elections with their election supplies and an appropriate number shall be available for distribution to officers of political parties, county clerks, city, town and village clerks, colleges, libraries, and any other convenient distribution source which is approved by the local or state board of elections and which requests such forms.10. The state board of elections shall prescribe a standard application form for use under this section. The use of any application form which substantially complies with the provisions of this section shall be acceptable and any application filed on such a form shall be accepted for filing.Added by New York Laws 2023, ch. 481,Sec. 2, eff. 1/1/2024, op. to any general, primary, run-off primary, or special election held after 1/1/2024. See New York Laws 2023, ch. 481, Sec. 1.