2023 New York Laws › ELN - Election › Article 8 - Conduct of Elections › Title 7 - Early Mail Voting › 8-700 - Early Voting by Mail; Application for Ballot.

§ 8-700. Early voting by mail; application for ballot. 1. 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."
 
 .................
 (Date)
.................
(Mark)
.................
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."
......................                                                Signature of Witness)
......................                                                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.