2023 New York Laws › ELN - Election › Article 8 - Conduct of Elections › Title 3 - Casting the Ballot › 8-306 - Voters; Assistance To.

§  8-306.  Voters;  assistance to. 1. A voter who states under oath to
the board of inspectors that he requires assistance may be  assisted  in
the  manner  and subject to the conditions and requirements provided for
in this section.
2. A board of inspectors of election shall assist any voter:
(a) who informs such board,  under  oath,  that  he  cannot  read  and
therefore requires assistance, or
(b)  who  cannot even with the aid of glasses see the names printed on
the official ballot, or
(c) who is so physically handicapped that he cannot do what is  needed
at  that  election  to  turn down the levers or use a write-in slot on a
voting machine, or mark a paper ballot, or
(d) who, unless aided by another person, cannot enter a voting booth.
3. Any voter who requires assistance to vote by reason  of  blindness,
disability  or  inability  to read or write may be given assistance by a
person of the voter's choice, other than the voter's employer  or  agent
of  the  employer  or  officer  or  agent  of the voter's union. A voter
entitled to assistance in voting who does not select a particular person
may be assisted by two election inspectors not  of  the  same  political
faith. The inspectors or person assisting a voter shall enter the voting
machine  or  booth  with the voter, help the voter in the preparation of
the voter's ballot and, if necessary, in the return of the voted  ballot
to  the  inspectors  for deposit in the ballot box. The inspectors shall
enter in the space provided for such voter  in  the  computer  generated
registration  list,  the  name  of each officer or person rendering such
assistance.
4. An election officer or other person assisting a voter shall not  in
any  manner  request or seek to persuade or induce the assisted voter to
vote any particular ticket, or for any particular candidate, or  for  or
against  any  particular ballot proposal, and shall not keep or make any
memorandum or entry of anything occurring within the  voting  booth  and
shall  not,  directly or indirectly, reveal to any other person the name
of any candidate voted for by such voter, or which ticket he has  voted,
except when required pursuant to law to give testimony as to such matter
in a judicial proceeding.
5.  A  person  other than an inspector, who assists a voter in voting,
shall make an oath before entering the booth that he "will  not  in  any
manner  request,  or  seek  to  persuade or induce the voter to vote any
particular ticket or for any particular candidate, and that he will  not
keep  or  make  any memorandum or entry of anything occurring within the
booth, and that he will not,  directly  or  indirectly,  reveal  to  any
person the name of any candidate voted for by the voter, or which ticket
he had voted, or anything occurring within the voting booth, except when
required  pursuant  to  law  to  give testimony as to such a matter in a
judicial proceeding."
6. If a voter makes any false representation to obtain  assistance  in
voting, he shall be punishable therefor as prescribed by law.
7.  For the instruction of voters, there may be so far as practicable,
in each polling place, a mechanically operated model of a portion of the
face of the voting machine. Such model, if furnished, shall  be  located
during  the  election  on  the  inspectors' table or in some other place
which the voters must pass to reach  the  machine.  Each  voter,  before
entering  the  machine, shall, upon request, be instructed regarding its
operation and such instruction illustrated on the model  and  the  voter
given opportunity personally to operate the model. The voter's attention
shall  also  be  called  to  the  facsimile ballot so that the voter can
become familiar with the location of the ballot proposals, if  any,  and
the  location of the respective offices to be filled at the election. If

any voter, after entering  the  voting  machine  booth  and  before  the
closing of such booth, shall ask for further instructions concerning the
manner  of voting, two inspectors of opposite political faith shall give
such  instructions  to  him.  No  inspector or other election officer or
other person instructing a voter, shall, in any manner, request, suggest
or seek to persuade or induce any such  voter  to  vote  any  particular
ticket, or for any particular candidate or for or against any particular
ballot  proposal.  After  giving such instructions, the inspectors shall
retire and such voter shall then close the booth and vote as in the case
of an unassisted voter.
8. In no event shall an inspector or any other person enter  a  voting
machine  or  booth  for  the  purpose of giving instructions to a voter,
after the voter has closed such booth, except as permitted herein.
9. Any voter requesting a sample ballot  shall  be  furnished  one  if
available and he may take it away from the polling place.