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New York Statutes § 10-106 Military voters; registration and application for ballots

⤴ Up to Article 10: Voting by Members of Armed Forces

Statute Text

1. On or before the thirty-fifth day preceding an election the names and addresses of all military voters who have filed applications for military ballots by such day and who were not already registered shall be registered by the board of elections in the election district of residence of such military voter as hereinafter provided.
2. Such board of elections shall cause such military voter to be registered in the manner provided by this chapter, and in the space designated "other remarks" shall be entered the military address of such voter or such military address shall be entered into the computer files from which the computer generated registration list is prepared. Such registration poll records shall be stamped or marked conspicuously with the legend "Military Voter" or the records of such military voters in such computer files shall be coded in a manner which distinguishes such voters from the other voters in such files. The foregoing provisions of this subdivision as to entry of the military address may be altered by the state board of elections to such extent as may be necessary to the security and safety of the United States. A military voter shall not be required to register personally. An application for a military ballot shall constitute permanent personal registration and a military voter shall be deemed registered under the rules and regulations prevailing under permanent personal registration upon the filing of his application and the entering of his name in the appropriate registration records.
3.
(a) In addition to any other method of registering to vote or of applying for a military ballot, a military voter may request a voter registration application or military ballot application by facsimile transmission to the board of elections or pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act or by electronic mail. When making such a request, the military voter may designate a preference for transmission of such voter registration application and military ballot application pursuant to section 10-107 of this article.
(b) The military ballot application shall allow the military voter to designate a preference for transmission of the military ballot pursuant to section 10-107 of this article.
(c) The procedures for receiving documents from and transmitting documents to a military voter shall, to the extent practicable, protect the security and integrity of the military voter registration and military ballot application request process and protect the privacy of the military voter, including the voter's identity and other personal data. Nothing in this paragraph shall limit the information that may be obtained pursuant to section 3-220 of this chapter.
4. Not earlier than the ninetieth or later than the seventy-fifth day before each general election, each county or city board of elections shall send, in accordance with the preferred method of transmission designated by the voter pursuant to section 10-107 of this article, to each person who is registered as a military voter and to every other military voter in such county or city for whom it has a military address, an application for a military ballot for such general election in a form prescribed by the state board of elections, which shall include a place for such military voter to enroll in a party, and shall include the return address of such board of elections.
5. The state board of elections shall forward to the appropriate board of elections all applications for military ballots received by it. An application from a military voter not previously registered must be received by the appropriate board of elections not later than ten days before a general , primary, or special election [or twenty-five days before a primary election] in order to entitle the applicant to vote at such election. An application from a military voter who is already registered must be received at least seven days before an election in order to entitle the applicant to vote at such election; except that an application from such a military voter who delivers [his] their application to the board of elections in person, must be received not later than the day before the election.
6. The board of elections shall immediately add to such registration records the name and residence and military address of every military voter, who was not previously registered, pursuant to this chapter, from whom it receives a valid application for a military ballot. If a valid application for a military ballot is received by a board of elections from a person already registered, other than as a military voter, from the residence address set forth in such application, such board shall mark the registration records of such voter in the same manner as the registration records of other military voters.
7. The board of elections in each year shall cause a list of names, residence addresses and, for a primary election, party enrollments of military voters appearing on such registration poll records to be prepared not later than seven days preceding an election. One copy shall be kept at the office of the board of elections for public inspection. The board shall transmit one copy to the chairman of each political party in the county, upon written request.
7-a. If a federal post card application form is received from a person who is qualified to vote as a military voter but who has not previously registered pursuant to the provisions of this article, such federal post card application form shall be treated in all respects as an application for registration and enrollment as a military voter and for a military ballot pursuant to the provisions of this article. If such a federal post card application form is received from a person already registered as a military voter pursuant to the provisions of this article, such application shall be treated in all respects as an application for a military ballot pursuant to the provisions of this article.
8. If the board of elections denies the application of a person in military service to register to vote or to receive a military ballot, such board of elections shall immediately send the applicant a written explanation for such denial.
10. A qualified voter who shall have been inducted into or who shall have enlisted in the military service and who shall not have taken his oath of allegiance prior to thirty days preceding a general or special election, or the spouse, parent or child residing in the same election district as, and accompanying such voter, may register before the board of elections of his county of residence, on or before the tenth day preceding such election, provided he shall, on or before the day of such election, actually be in the military service. Such voter shall then receive a military ballot. Such registration record shall be stamped with the legend "military voter".
11. A board of elections may send to any spouse, parent, or adult child, brother or sister of a military voter serving inside or outside of the continental limits of the United States, an application for a military ballot, in a form prescribed by the state board of elections. Such application shall be on a postcard addressed to the appropriate board of elections and shall include the statement "I 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 may be signed by the spouse, parent or adult child, brother or sister of such military voter. Upon receipt of such an application from such a relative of a military voter, the board of elections shall mail a military ballot to such military voter together with an application for a military ballot and instructions that such application must be completed and returned together with the envelope containing the military ballot. No ballot sent to a military voter upon the application of a relative of such military voter shall be cast or canvassed unless a completed application for military ballot signed by such military voter is returned within the time limits for the receipt of the military ballot itself.
12. If the board of elections receives notice from a military voter that such voter has left the military service and is residing at his residence address, such board shall cross out or otherwise obliterate the "Military Voter" legend on such voter's registration records and thereafter treat such records in the manner provided by this chapter for regularly registered voters.

History

Amended by New York Laws 2023 , ch. 113 , Sec. 12 , eff. 1/1/2023 .

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