2023 New York Laws › ELN - Election › Article 15 - Village Elections › 15-120 - Absentee Voting at Village Elections.

§  15-120. Absentee voting at village elections.  1. A qualified voter
of a village may vote as an absentee voter under this section if  during
all  the  hours  of  voting  on  the day of a general or special village
election he or she will be:
(a) absent from the county of his or her residence; or
(b) unable to appear at  the  polling  place  because  of  illness  or
physical  disability,  or  duties  related to the primary care of one or
more individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or  because  he  or
she will be or is a patient in a hospital; or
(c)   an   incarcerated   individual   or   patient   of  a  veteran's
administration hospital; or
(d) absent from his or her voting  residence  because  he  or  she  is
detained  in  jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or
confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other  than
a  felony,  provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election
district of his or her residence.
2. Each person entitled to vote as an absentee voter pursuant to  this
section  and desirous of obtaining an absentee ballot shall make written
application therefor to the village clerk.  Application  forms  for  use
pursuant  to  this  section  shall  be in a form prescribed by the state
board of elections. The use of  any  application  which  is  on  a  form
prescribed by the state board of elections shall be acceptable.
3.  An  application  for  an  absentee  ballot  must  be signed by the
applicant. Such application may require  that  the  applicant  submit  a
certificate  in  lieu  of  any  affidavit  which  shall  state  that the
information contained in the application is true. Such certificate shall
be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit and shall
have the  following  language  printed  in  bold  face  type  above  the
signature line:
"I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CERTIFICATE 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."
4. The application for an absentee 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 his or her
village and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed.
(b) A statement that the  applicant  is  a  qualified  and  registered
voter.
(c)  A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election the
applicant  expects  in  good  faith  to  be  in  one  of  the  following
categories:
(i) absent from the county of his or her residence; provided, however,
if  the  applicant  expects to be absent from such county for a duration
covering more than one election and seeks an absentee  ballot  for  each
election,  he  or  she  shall  state the dates when he or she expects to
begin and end such absence; or
(ii) unable to appear  at  a  polling  place  because  of  illness  or
physical disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more
individuals who are ill or physically disabled; or
(iii)   an   incarcerated   individual   or  patient  of  a  veteran's
administration hospital; or
(iv) detained in jail awaiting action by  a  grand  jury  or  awaiting
trial  or  confined  in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense
other than a felony and stating the place where he or she is so detained
or confined.
(d) Such application shall  permit  the  applicant  to  apply  for  an
absentee ballot for either a primary election or the general election in
any  year  and  for  those  persons who will be continuously absent from
their county of residence during the period  between  the  fall  primary
election  and  the general election in any year to apply for ballots for
both such elections in such year. A voter who applies  for  an  absentee
ballot  shall  be  sent  an  absentee ballot for any special election or
winter primary that occurs during the period of absence specified in the
application.
5. An application must be received by the  village  clerk  no  earlier
than  four  months  before  the election for which an absentee ballot is
sought.  If the application requests that the absentee ballot be mailed,
such application must be received not later than seven days  before  the
election.  If the applicant or his or her agent delivers the application
to the village clerk in person, such application must  be  received  not
later  than the day before the election. The village clerk shall examine
each application and shall  determine  from  the  information  contained
therein whether the applicant is qualified under this section to receive
an  absentee  ballot.  The  clerk  in  making  such  decision  shall not
determine  whether  the  applicant  is   a   qualified   elector,   said
determination  being  reserved  to  the  inspectors  of  election  as is
hereinafter provided in subdivision nine of this section.
6. No later than six days before the election for which an application
has been received and for which the village  clerk  has  determined  the
applicant  to  be qualified to vote by absentee ballot the village clerk
shall mail, by regular  mail,  an  absentee  ballot  to  each  qualified
applicant  who  has  applied  before such day and who has requested that
such absentee ballot be mailed to him or her at the address set forth in
his or her application. If the applicant or his or  her  agent  delivers
the  application  to  the  village clerk in person after the seventh day
before the village election and  not  later  than  the  day  before  the
election,  the  village  clerk  shall  forthwith  deliver  such absentee
ballots for those applicants whom he or she determines are qualified  to
make such applications and to receive such ballots to such applicants or
the  agents  named  in  the  applications when such applicants or agents
appear in the village clerk's office.
7. The absentee ballot shall be caused to be prepared and  printed  by
the  village  clerk  as  provided  by  law  for paper ballots or machine
ballots, whichever are to be  used  in  said  election  and  appropriate
modifications  for  the  purposes  of this section. He or she shall also
cause to be prepared and printed return envelopes addressed  to  him  or
her,  conforming  so far as may be practicable to the provisions of this
chapter stating thereon that in order for the ballot  contained  therein
to  be  counted  it must be received by the village clerk not later than
the close of the polls on election day. On  the  reverse  side  of  each
return  envelope  there  shall  be written instructions for the voter to
insert at designated places his  or  her  signature,  his  or  her  name
printed,  his or her residence address within the village and his or her
village election district if there be more than one district within  the
village.
8. The method of marking, preparing and mailing such ballot for voting
shall  conform,  wherever  practicable, to the methods used for absentee
ballots for a general election, except that the envelope in which it  is
contained  shall  be  returned  to  the village clerk. On the day of the
election, the village clerk shall deliver all such ballots,  which  have
been  returned  to  him  or her, in the sealed envelopes to the board of
inspectors of election of the proper election district. No  such  ballot
shall  be  deemed  to have been voted unless or until it shall have been

delivered to the  board  of  inspectors  of  election  of  the  election
district  in which the elector casting the ballot resides and shall have
been deposited by the chairman of such board in  the  box  provided  for
receiving such ballot.
9.  When  such  ballots  shall  have  been  delivered  to the board of
inspectors of election of the proper election district  and  shall  have
been  duly  determined  by  such  board  to have been lawfully cast by a
qualified elector of such district, the chairman of  such  board  shall,
after the close of the polls, open the envelopes containing such ballots
and, without unfolding such ballots or permitting the face thereof to be
exposed  to  the view of anyone, shall deposit each such ballot in a box
specifically furnished for such purpose by the  village  clerk.  If  the
board  of  inspectors shall determine that any such ballot has been cast
by an elector who would not be qualified under the  provisions  of  this
section, then such ballot shall not be counted.
10.  After all the ballots shall have been deposited, the box shall be
opened and such ballots canvassed in the same manner  as  other  ballots
cast  at such election and shall be counted and included in the total of
all ballots cast at such election.