2023 New York Laws › ELN - Election › Article 8 - Conduct of Elections › Title 4 - Absentee Voting › 8-408 - Electronic Absentee Ballot Application Transmittal System.

§ 8-408. Electronic absentee ballot application transmittal system. 1.
Establishment.  In  addition  to  any  other  means  of  applying for an
absentee ballot, the  state  board  of  elections  shall  establish  and
maintain  an  electronic  absentee ballot application transmittal system
through which voters may apply for an absentee ballot online. The  state
board  of  elections  shall electronically transmit such applications to
the applicable board of elections of each county or the city of New York
for  processing  consistent  with  this  chapter.  In  accordance   with
technical  specifications provided by the state board of elections, each
board of elections shall maintain an absentee ballot application  system
capable   of   receiving   and  processing  electronic  absentee  ballot
applications, including, but not limited to, electronic signatures, from
the  electronic   absentee   ballot   application   transmittal   system
established  by  the  state board of elections pursuant to this section.
Such transmittal system shall be fully integrated with each county board
of elections and the city of New York board of elections so that a voter
may apply online directly either through the website of his or her board
of elections or the state board of elections. Notwithstanding any  other
inconsistent  provision  of  this chapter, applications filed using such
system shall be considered filed with the applicable board of  elections
on  the  calendar  date  the application is initially transmitted by the
voter through the electronic  absentee  ballot  application  transmittal
system.
2.  Online  absentee  ballot application. (a) A voter shall be able to
apply for an absentee ballot using a personal online voter  registration
application submitted through the electronic absentee ballot application
transmittal system when the voter:
(i) completes an electronic absentee ballot application promulgated by
the  state board of elections which shall include all of the information
required by section 8-400 of this title; and
(ii) affirms, subject to penalty of perjury, by means of electronic or
manual signature, that the information contained in the absentee  ballot
application is true; and
(iii)  consents  to  the use of an electronic copy of the individual's
manual signature that is in the  custody  of  the  department  of  motor
vehicles,  the  state  board of elections, or other agency designated by
section 5-211 or 5-212 of this chapter,  as  the  individual's  absentee
ballot exemplar signature, or provides such a signature by direct upload
in  a  manner that complies with the New York state electronic signature
and records act and the rules and regulations promulgated by  the  state
board of elections.
(b)  The board of elections shall provide the personal online absentee
ballot application in any language required by the federal Voting Rights
Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503) in any county in the state.
(c) The online  absentee  ballot  application  process  shall  provide
reasonable  accommodations  to  improve  accessibility  for persons with
disabilities and shall  be  compatible  for  use  with  standard  online
accessibility  assistance  tools  for  persons  with visual, physical or
perceptive disabilities.
(d)  The  state  board  of  elections  shall  promulgate   rules   and
regulations  for  the  creation and administration of an online absentee
ballot registration system pursuant to this section.
3. Failure to provide exemplar signature not to  prevent  application.
(a)  If  an  absentee  ballot  exemplar  signature is not provided by an
applicant who submits an absentee ballot application  pursuant  to  this
section,  the  local  board shall seek to obtain such exemplar signature
from the statewide voter  registration  database,  the  state  board  of

elections,  or  a  state  or local agency designated by section 5-211 or
5-212 of this chapter.
(b)  If  such  exemplar  signature is not available from the statewide
voter registration database, the state board of elections, or a state or
local agency designated by section 5-211 or 5-212 of this  chapter,  the
local  board  of  elections  shall,  absent another reason to reject the
application, require the voter to provide an exemplar signature  by  any
one  of  the  following  methods:  in  person, by electronic mail, or by
electronic upload to the  board  of  elections  through  the  electronic
absentee ballot application transmittal system.
(c)  If  such  voter does not provide the required exemplar signature,
the board of elections shall proceed to issue an absentee ballot to  the
voter  along  with  an  absentee  ballot application form requiring such
voter to submit a signature upon such application form and return it  to
the board of elections with the voter's ballot.