2023 New York Laws › TWN - Town › Article 6 - Town Elections › 84-A - Absentee Ballots for Special Town Elections; Special Provisions.

§   84-a.   Absentee  ballots  for  special  town  elections;  special
  provisions. 1. Absentee ballots shall be provided for all  special  town
  elections for which personal registration is required.
2.  a.  An  applicant  for  such  an  absentee  ballot shall submit an
  application setting forth (1) his name and residence address,  including
  the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any;
  (2) that he is or will be, on the day of the election, a qualified voter
  of  the town in which he resides; (3) that he is registered in the town;
  (4) that he will be unable to appear to vote in person on the day of the
  election for which the absentee ballot is requested because  he  is,  or
  will  be  on  such  day (a) a patient in a hospital, or unable to appear
  personally at the polling place  on  such  day  because  of  illness  or
  physical  disability  or  (b) because his duties, occupation or business
  will require him to be outside of the county of his  residence  on  such
  day,  (c)  because  he  will  be  on  vacation outside the county of his
  residence on such day; or, (d) absent from his voting residence  because
  he is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial
  or  is  confined  in prison after conviction for an offense other than a
  felony.  Such application must be received by the town  clerk  at  least
  seven  days  before  the  election  if the ballot is to be mailed to the
  voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be  delivered
  personally to the voter or his agent.
b. (1)  Where such duties, occupation or business are of such a nature
  as  ordinarily  to  require  such  absence,  a brief description of such
  duties, occupation or business shall be set forth in such affidavit; and
  (2) where such duties, occupation or business are not of such  a  nature
  as  ordinarily to require such absence, such application shall contain a
  statement of the special circumstances on account of which such  absence
  is required.
c.   Where the applicant expects in good faith to be absent on the day
  of the election because he will be on vacation elsewhere  on  such  day,
  such  application  shall also contain the dates upon which he expects to
  begin and end such vacation, the place or places where he expects to  be
  on  such  vacation, the name and address of his employer, if any, and if
  self-employed, a statement to that effect.
d.  Where the absence is because of detention or confinement to  jail,
  such affidavit shall state whether the voter is detained awaiting action
  of  the  grand jury or is confined after conviction for an offense other
  than a felony.
e.  Where a person is or would be,  if  he  were  a  qualified  voter,
  entitled  to  apply  for  the right to vote by absentee ballot under the
  provisions of this section, his spouse, parent or child, if a  qualified
  voter  and  a resident of the same town, shall be entitled to vote as an
  absentee voter upon personally making  and  signing  an  application  in
  accordance with the preceding provisions of this subdivision and showing
  that  he  expects  to  be absent from the town on the day of the special
  town election by reason of accompanying or being with the spouse,  child
  or  parent who is or would be, if he were a qualified voter, so entitled
  to apply for the right to vote by absentee ballot, and, in the event  no
  application  is  made  by  such  spouse,  child  or parent, such further
  information as the town shall require.
f.   Such application shall include  the  following  statement  to  be
  signed by the voter:
I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
  my  knowledge  and  belief, and I understand that if I make any material
  false statement in the foregoing statement of application  for  absentee
  ballots, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Date.................... Signature of Voter.............
g.  An  applicant  whose  ability  to appear personally at the polling
  place of the town of which he is  a  qualified  voter  is  substantially
  impaired by reason of permanent illness or physical disability and whose
  registration  record has been marked "permanently disabled" by the board
  of  elections  pursuant  to  the provisions of the election law shall be
  entitled to receive an absentee ballot pursuant  to  the  provisions  of
  this  section  without  making  separate  application  for such absentee
  ballot, and the town clerk, upon being advised by the board of elections
  on or with the list of registered voters that the registration record of
  a voter is marked "permanently disabled", shall send an absentee  ballot
  to  such  voter  at  his  last  known address by first class mail with a
  request to the postal authorities not to forward same but to return same
  in five days in the event that it cannot be delivered to the  addressee.
  The  board  of  inspectors  of  the  election  district  shall  make  an
  appropriate entry on the registration record indicating the fact that an
  absentee ballot has been sent and the date of mailing.
3.  If, upon examining the application required under  the  provisions
  of  subdivision  two  of this section, and upon such inquiry as it deems
  proper, the board of inspectors shall be satisfied that the applicant is
  a qualified voter of the town, and entitled to vote by absentee  ballot,
  such board of inspectors shall place his name upon a list, thereupon the
  applicant  shall  be issued or mailed an absentee voter's ballot and the
  town clerk shall make an appropriate entry on the list  indicating  that
  an  absentee  ballot  has  been  applied  for  by,  and  issued  to, the
  applicant.
4.  Ballots for absentee voters shall be, as nearly as practicable, in
  the same form as those to be voted at the town election.  On the back of
  such absentee ballots shall  be  printed  the  words  "Official  Ballot,
  Absentee Voter".
5.  a.  The  board of registration shall enclose each absentee voter's
  ballot in an envelope which shall be labelled:
ELECTION MATERIAL
PLEASE EXPEDITE
On one side of such envelope shall be printed:
OFFICIAL BALLOT, ABSENTEE VOTER
for
Special Town Election
Name of Voter.........................................
Residence (street and number, if any).................
Town of...............................................
County of.............................................
The date of the election and name of the town shall  be  printed,  and
  the name of the voter, residence and district shall be written in by the
  town clerk.
b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the following
  statement:
STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER
I  do declare that I will have been a citizen of the United States for
  thirty days, and will be at least eighteen years of age, on the date  of
  the  special  town  election;  that  I will have been a resident of this
  state and of the town shown on the reverse side  of  this  envelope  for
  thirty  days next preceding the said election; that I am or on such date
  will be, a registered voter of said town;  that  I  will  be  unable  to
  appear  personally  on  the  day  of  said  special town election at the
  polling place of the election district in  which  I  am  or  will  be  a
  qualified   voter  because  of  the  reason  stated  on  my  application
  heretofore submitted; that I have not qualified, or do I intend to vote,
  elsewhere than as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I

  have not received or offered, do not expect to receive, have  not  paid,
  offered  or  promised  to  pay,  contributed,  offered  or  promised  to
  contribute to another to be paid or used, any money  or  other  valuable
  thing,  as  a  compensation or reward for the giving or withholding of a
  vote at this special town election, and have not  made  any  promise  to
  influence  the  giving or withholding of any such votes; that I have not
  made or become directly or indirectly interested in  any  bet  or  wager
  depending upon the result of this special town election; and that I have
  not  been  convicted  of  bribery  or  any  infamous  crime,  or,  if so
  convicted, that I have been pardoned or restored to all the rights of  a
  citizen,  without restriction as to the right of suffrage, or received a
  certificate of relief from disabilities or a certificate of good conduct
  pursuant to article twenty-three  of  the  correction  law  removing  my
  disability to register and vote.
I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
  my  knowledge  and  belief, and I understand that if I make any material
  false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be
  guilty of a misdemeanor.
Date.............. Signature of Voter..................
c.  The envelope shall be gummed, ready for sealing,  and  shall  have
  printed  thereon, on the side opposite the statement, instructions as to
  the duties  of  the  voter  after  the  marking  of  the  ballot,  which
  instructions  shall  include  a  specific  direction  stating  that  the
  envelope must reach the office of the town clerk  not  later  than  five
  P.M. on the day of the election in order that his vote may be canvassed.
d.    A  person  who  shall  make  any material false statement in the
  statement of absentee  voter  appearing  on  the  reverse  side  of  the
  envelope  as  provided  in  this  subdivision,  shall  be  guilty  of  a
  misdemeanor.
6. a. The town clerk shall make a list of all persons to whom absentee
  voter's ballots shall have been issued and keep such list on file in his
  office where it shall be available for public inspection during  regular
  office  hours  until  the  day of the election. Any qualified voter may,
  upon  examination  of  such  list,  file  a  written  challenge  of  the
  qualifications as a voter of any person whose name appears on such list,
  stating  the  reasons  for  such  challenge.  A challenge to an absentee
  ballot may not be made on the basis that the voter should  have  applied
  for an early mail ballot. Such written challenge shall be transmitted by
  the town clerk to the inspectors of election on election day.
b.    Such  list shall also be posted in a conspicuous place or places
  during  the  election,  and  any  qualified  voter  may  challenge   the
  acceptance of the absentee voter's ballot of any person on such list, by
  making his challenge and the reasons therefor known to the inspectors of
  election before the close of the polls.
7.  a.    The  town  clerk  shall  be  authorized  to  call  upon  the
  commissioner of police and the officers and members of the police  force
  for such assistance in the enforcement of the provisions of this section
  as  he  shall require, and such commissioner and officers and members of
  the police force shall be authorized to render such assistance.
b.  The board of inspectors may require any person to attend before it
  at the office of the town clerk of the district and be  examined  as  to
  any  matter in relation to which such board is charged with a duty under
  this section, and may issue a subpoena therefor.   Each member  of  such
  board  of inspectors district shall be authorized to administer any oath
  that may be required or authorized by law in this connection.
8.  No absentee voter's ballot shall be  canvassed,  unless  it  shall
  have  been  received in the office of the town clerk not later than five
  P.M. on the day of the election.
9.  The town clerk shall, on the day of  the  election,  transmit  all
  absentee   voters'   envelopes,  received  by  him  in  accordance  with
  subdivision eight of this section, to the inspectors of election.
10.    If,  at the election, any absentee voters' envelopes shall have
  been  received  at  the  polling  place,  the  inspectors  of   election
  immediately after the closing of the polls shall examine them, and shall
  compare  the  signature, if any, on each envelope with the signature, if
  any, on the register, of the person of the same name who registered from
  the same address.   If the  signatures  are  found  to  correspond,  the
  inspectors  shall certify thereto by signing their initials opposite the
  name of the voter at the appropriate place in the register.  If a person
  whose name is on an envelope as a voter, shall  have  already  voted  in
  person  at  such  special  town  election, or if his name, residence and
  signature, as stated on the envelope, are not on  the  register,  or  if
  there is no signature on the envelope, this envelope shall be laid aside
  unopened  and be returned unopened to the town clerk.  If such person is
  found to be registered and has  not  so  voted  in  person,  and  if  no
  objection  is  made,  or  if  an  objection  made  be not sustained, the
  envelope shall be opened and the ballot withdrawn without unfolding  and
  deposited in the proper box or boxes. At the time of the deposit of such
  ballot,  the  inspectors  shall  enter  the  words "absentee vote" at an
  appropriate place in the register.
11.   During such examination  any  qualified  voter  present  in  the
  polling  place  may  object to the voting of the ballot contained in any
  envelope upon the ground or grounds (a) that the person named thereon is
  not a qualified voter of the town, or (b) that he was within the  county
  while the polls of the election were open, except where the applicant is
  a patient in a hospital located within the county or city or detained or
  confined in a jail located within the county and except where the ballot
  was  obtained  upon  the ground of inability to appear personally at the
  polling place on the day of the special town election because of illness
  or physical disability, or (c) that he was  able  to  appear  personally
  while  the  polls were open, in cases where the ballot was obtained upon
  the ground that the voter was a patient in a hospital located within the
  county or detained or confined in a jail located within  the  county  or
  upon  the  ground of inability to appear personally at the polling place
  on the day of the election because of illness or physical disability, or
  (d) that he was not entitled to cast such ballot.   An  inspector  shall
  make such an objection if he shall know or suspect that the person named
  on  such  envelope  is  not  such a qualified voter or was so within the
  county or was able so to appear personally, or was not entitled to  cast
  such  ballot.    The  election  inspectors  shall  forthwith  proceed to
  determine each objection including any written challenge transmitted  to
  them  by  the town clerk as provided in subdivision six of this section.
  Unless the inspectors, by majority vote, shall  sustain  the  objection,
  the chairman, or if he refuses, another inspector shall endorse upon the
  envelope  the  objection  and the words "not sustained," shall sign such
  endorsement, and shall open the  envelope  and  deposit  the  ballot  as
  provided  in  this  section.    Should the inspectors, by majority vote,
  sustain such objection, the objection  and  word  "sustained"  shall  be
  similarly  endorsed  upon the envelope, the envelope shall not be opened
  nor the ballots therein canvassed, and such envelope shall  be  returned
  unopened  to  the town clerk.   If the inspectors of election shall have
  received an envelope endorsed with the name  of  a  person  who  to  the
  knowledge  of the inspectors is deceased on the day of the election, the
  inspectors shall return such envelope unopened to the  town  clerk  with
  the words "deceased--objection sustained" endorsed on the envelope.
12. If the inspectors of election shall have received an envelope, and
  upon  opening  the same no ballot shall be found therein, the inspectors
  shall make a memorandum showing that the ballot  is  missing.  When  the
  casting  of  absentee  voters'  ballots  shall  have been completed, the
  inspectors  shall  ascertain  the number of such ballots which have been
  deposited in the ballot box by deducting from the  number  of  envelopes
  opened  the  number of missing ballots, and shall make a separate return
  thereof in duplicate. The number of absentee voters'  ballots  deposited
  in  the  ballot  box  shall  be  added  to  the  number of other ballots
  deposited in the ballot box in order to  determine  the  number  of  all
  ballots  to  be accounted for in the ballot box. Such ballots shall then
  be counted or canvassed by the inspectors of  election  along  with  the
  other  ballots cast at such district election, or, where voting machines
  are used, shall be added to the votes recorded on such machines.
13. The provisions of this section shall apply to absentee ballots  in
  special  town elections, notwithstanding any other provision of law. The
  provisions of any other law as they relate to special town elections not
  inconsistent herewith shall apply to the conduct of such elections.