New York passes new absentee voting laws

By OWEN WALSH
Posted 8/21/20

ALBANY, NY — In New York State, three pieces of election legislation were signed into law recently. All are aimed at making mail-in voting more accessible to more New Yorkers.

One of the …

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New York passes new absentee voting laws

Posted

ALBANY, NY — In New York State, three pieces of election legislation were signed into law recently. All are aimed at making mail-in voting more accessible to more New Yorkers.

One of the bills authorizes voters to request an absentee ballot due to the risk of illness, including COVID-19. The second allows voters to request an absentee ballot earlier than 30 days before the election—effective Thursday, August 20. And the last bill allows ballots to be postmarked on the day of the election, November 3. The third bill also states that any absentee ballot should be presumed timely even if it does not bear a dated postmark, as long as the ballot was received and time-stamped by the day after Election Day. 

“It is absolutely vital that New Yorkers are able to exercise their most fundamental democratic right and vote safely, by mail, in the November election, and have the assurance that their votes will be counted," said Sen. Jen Metzger, who co-signed all three bills. "Last month, we passed several important bills that directly address issues that arose in the primary, and I’m thrilled to see three of these bills now signed into law. For voters who prefer not to vote in person, I strongly encourage them to apply for their absentee ballot ASAP  and vote as early as allowable before election day to help make the ballot-counting process smoother for our county Boards of Elections." 

new york, absentee, ballots, voting, election, general, legislation, laws, signed, jen metzger

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