2023 New York Laws › ELN - Election › Article 7 - Election Ballot › Title 1 - Form of Ballots › 7-119 - Ballots; Early Mail Voters.

§  7-119.  Ballots;  early  mail voters. 1. (a) Ballots for early mail
voters shall be, as nearly as practicable, in the same form as those  to
be  voted in the district on election day, except that such ballots need
not have a stub, and shall have the words "Early Mail Ballot",  endorsed
thereon.
(b)  All  provisions  of  this  chapter  not  inconsistent  with  this
subdivision shall be applicable  to  early  mail  ballots  prepared  for
counting by a ballot scanner or by hand. The instructions for marking an
early  mail  ballot  shall  be  provided  and  shall be substantially as
follows, so that they accurately reflect the ballot layout:
INSTRUCTIONS
Mark the (insert "oval" or "square") to the left of  the  name  of  your
choice. (Provide illustration of correctly-marked voting position here.)
To vote for a candidate whose name is not printed on the ballot, (insert
"mark  the oval (or square) to the left of 'write-in' and print the name
clearly" or "print the name clearly in  the  box  labeled  'write-in'"),
staying  within the box. Any mark or writing outside the spaces provided
for voting may void the entire ballot. You have a right to a replacement
ballot. If you make a mistake or want to  change  your  vote,  call  the
board of elections at (insert phone number here) for instructions on how
to  obtain  a  new  ballot.  The  number  of  choices is listed for each
contest. Do not mark the ballot for more candidates than allowed. If you
do, your vote in that contest will not count.
(c)  When  a  question  or  proposal  is  included  on   the   ballot,
instructions  substantially  similar  to  those  provided in subdivision
fifteen of section 7-104 of this article shall be included.
2. The determination of the appropriate county board of  elections  as
to  the  candidates  duly  designated  or nominated for public office or
party position whose name shall appear on the early mail ballot  and  as
to  ballot  proposals to be voted on shall be made no later than the day
after the state board of elections issues  its  certification  of  those
candidates  to be voted for at the general, special or primary election.
The determinations of the state board of elections  and  the  respective
county boards of elections shall be final and conclusive with respect to
such  offices  for  which  petitions  or certificates are required to be
filed with such boards, as the case may be but nothing contained in this
section shall prevent a board of elections,  or  a  court  of  competent
jurisdiction   from   determining   at   a  later  date  that  any  such
certification, designation or nomination is invalid and, in the event of
such later determination, no vote cast for any such nominee by any voter
shall be counted at the election.
3. There shall be three envelopes for each early mail ballot issued by
mail: the inner affirmation envelope into which  a  voter  places  their
voted  ballot,  the outer envelope which shall be addressed to the early
mail voter, and the mailing envelope which is addressed  to  the  county
board of elections. The board of elections shall furnish with each early
mail  ballot  an inner affirmation envelope. On one side of the envelope
shall be printed:
OFFICIAL EARLY MAIL BALLOT
for
GENERAL (OR PRIMARY OR SPECIAL) ELECTION,
 
 ..........., 20.......
 
Name of voter ..................
Residence (street and number if any) ..............
City/or town of (village, if any) .................
County of ...............................

Assembly District ......................
Legislative District (as applicable) ..........
Ward (as applicable) .....................
Election District ....................
Party Enrollment (in case of primary election) ....................
4.  The  date of the election, name of the county, and name of a city,
if there be a separate ballot for city voters, shall be printed, and the
name of the voter, residence, number of the assembly district,  if  any,
name  of  town,  number  of  ward,  if  any, election district and party
enrollment, if required, shall be either printed or written  or  stamped
in by the board.
5.  There  shall  also  be  a  place  for two board of elections staff
members or inspectors of opposite  political  parties  to  indicate,  by
placing  their  initials  thereon, that they have checked and marked the
voter's poll record and a box  labeled  "BOE  use  only"  for  notations
required   when  the  board  of  elections  reviews  affirmation  ballot
envelopes pursuant to section 9-209 of this chapter.
6. On the reverse side of such inner  affirmation  envelope  shall  be
printed the following statement:
AFFIRMATION
I  do declare that I am a citizen of the United States, that I am duly
registered in the election district shown on the reverse  side  of  this
envelope  and  I  am qualified to vote in such district; that I have not
qualified nor do I intend to vote elsewhere, that I have  not  committed
any act nor am I under any impediment which denies me the right to 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 early mail voter, I  shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor.
 
Date ............... 20 ................
..........................
Signature or mark of voter
..........................
Signature of Witness
required only if voter
does not sign their own
name)
..........................
Address of Witness
7.  The inner affirmation 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
when  such ballot must be postmarked and when such ballot must reach the
office of the board of elections in order to be canvassed.
8. Each inner affirmation ballot envelope  shall  be  enclosed  in  an
outer  envelope  addressed  to  the  appropriate  board of elections and
bearing on it a specific direction that if an original  application  for
an  early mail ballot is received with the ballot, such application must
be completed by the voter and returned in the  outer  envelope  together

with  the  sealed  inner  affirmation envelope containing the early mail
ballot within the time limits for  receipt  of  the  early  mail  ballot
itself.  Such  inner  affirmation  envelope  and outer envelope shall be
enclosed  in  the  third envelope addressed to the early mail voter. The
outer and third envelopes shall have printed on  the  face  thereof  the
words "Election Material--Please Expedite".