BILL NUMBER: S6735A
SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to allowing pre-registered
voters to apply for an absentee or early mail ballot
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 5-102 of the election law to allow a pre-regis-
tered voters to request an absentee ballot or vote early by mail so long
as they will be 18 by the time of the election for which the ballot is
requested.
Section 2 is a severability clause Section 3 provides the effective date
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The BOE requires applications requesting to receive an absentee ballot
by mail be received no later than fifteen days before an election.
Because one must be 18 years old to request an absentee ballot, certain
pre-registered voters who wish to vote early by mail or by absentee
ballot whose 18th birthdays fall less than 15 days before an election
are effectively disenfranchised because they cannot timely submit their
applications.
This legislation would give pre-registered voters who are 18 years old
by the time of an election the opportunity to vote absentee provided all
other qualifications are met.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately after becoming law

Statutes affected:
S6735A: 5-102 election law