2023 New York Laws › TWN - Town › Article 13 - Improvement District Commissioners › 213-B - Absentee Ballots for Improvement District Elections; Special Provisions.

§  213-b. Absentee ballots for improvement district elections; special
  provisions. 1. The board of commissioners of any improvement district in
  which  commissioners  are  elected,  may,  by  resolution,  provide  for
  absentee ballots for  the election of the commission, in accordance with
  the  provisions  of this section.   Such resolution shall take effect at
  the first such election held more than sixty days after its adoption and
  shall continue in effect for  all  such  elections  until  a  subsequent
  resolution providing otherwise shall, in like manner, have taken effect.
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  district  in which he resides in that he is or will be, on such
  date, over eighteen years of age, a citizen of the United States and has
  or will have resided in the district for thirty days next preceding such
  date; (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 or city of his residence on such day, (c) because
  he will be on vacation outside the county or city 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 district secretary 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.    (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 district, 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  district  on  the  day  of  the
  district  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 improvement district 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 district 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  secretary  of  the  improvement  district, 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
  improvement 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 of the  improvement  district  shall  be
  satisfied  that  the applicant is a qualified voter of the district, 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  secretary  of  the  board  of
  inspectors  of  the improvement district 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 district election; if the vote
  at  such  election shall be by ballot, the absentee ballot shall conform
  to that part of the regular ballot which  relates  to  the  election  of
  district  members;  if  the  vote  of  such  election shall be by voting
  machine, the absentee ballot shall conform as closely as possible to the
  manner in which the  names  of  the  candidates  appear  on  the  voting
  machines, except that the absentee ballot shall also contain a space for
  a  write-in or write-ins.  On the back of such absentee ballots shall be
  printed the words "Official Ballot, Absentee  Voter,"  followed  by  the
  words  "For  Members  of  the  board  of  commissioners  of  Improvement
  district."
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
Election of Members
at
Improvement District Election
 
  Name of Voter ..........................................................
  Residence (street and number, if any) ..................................
  City (or Town) of ......................................................
  County of ..............................................................
  Improvement district ...................................................
The  date  of  the election and name of the district shall be printed,
  and the name of the voter, residence and district shall be written in by
  the improvement district.
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  district  election;  that I will have been a resident of this state
  and of the district if any, shown on the reverse side of  this  envelope
  for  thirty  days  next  preceding the said election and that I am or on
  such date will be, a registered voter of said district; that I  will  be
  unable  to appear personally on the day of said district election at the
  polling place of the said 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
  district 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 district 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 district 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 secretary of the improvement district shall make a list  of
  all  persons to whom absentee voter's ballots shall have been issued and
  keep such list on file in the  improvement  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. Such written challenge shall be transmitted by the  secretary
  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 secretary of the improvement district 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  such  board  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 of the improvement  district  may  require
  any  person  to  attend  before it at the office of the secretary of the
  district and be examined as to any matter  in  relation  to  which  such
  district  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 secretary of the district not
  later than five P.M. on the day of the election.
9.  The secretary of the district 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 district 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 district 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  secretary
  of  the district.   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 district, or (b) that he was within the
  county or city 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 or city
  and except where the ballot was obtained upon the ground of inability to
  appear personally at the polling place on the day of the school district
  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 city or detained or confined in  a
  jail  located  within the county or city 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 district 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  district
  secretary  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  secretary  of the district. 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 secretary  of  the
  district  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  at
  improvement  district  elections, notwithstanding any other provision of
  law. The provisions of any other  law  as  they  relate  to  improvement
  district  elections not inconsistent herewith shall apply to the conduct
  of such elections.