N.Y. Education Law § 2018-d: Military voters

§ 2018-d. Military voters. 1. As used in this section, the following

terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Military service" means the military service of the state, or of

the United States, including the army, navy, marine corps, air force,

coast guard, space force, merchant marine and all components thereof,

and the coast and geodetic survey, the public health service, the

national guard when in the service of the United States pursuant to call

as provided by law, and the cadets or midshipmen of the United States

Military Academy, United States Naval Academy, United States Air Force

Academy, United States Merchant Marine Academy and United States Coast

Guard Academy.

(b) "Military voter" means a qualified voter of the state of New York

who is in actual military service, as defined in paragraph (a) of this

subdivision, and by reason of such military service is absent from his

or her district on the day of registration or election, or a voter who

is discharged from such military service within thirty days of an

election and the spouse, parent, child or dependent of such voter

accompanying or being with him or her, if a qualified voter and a

resident of the same school district.

(c) "Military ballot" means the ballot prepared, printed and supplied

for use by the military for the election of members of the board of

education and school district public library trustees, the adoption of

the annual budget and school district public library budget and

referenda.

(d) "Military address" means the mailing address of a military voter

other than his or her residence address in his or her school district.

(e) "Appropriate school board of education" means the board of

education in whose jurisdiction the military voter resides as a

qualified voter.

2. A military voter may designate a preference to receive a military

ballot by mail, facsimile transmission or electronic mail. Such

designation shall remain in effect until revoked or changed by the

military voter. If a military voter does not designate a preference, the

board of education shall transmit the military ballot application or

military ballot by mail. If a military voter designates a preference for

facsimile transmission or electronic mail but does not provide the

necessary facsimile number or e-mail address, the board of education

shall transmit the voter registration application, military ballot

application or military ballot by mail and request the omitted

information. All communications to the military voter shall include the

mailing address of the board of education.

3. Irrespective of the preferred method of transmission designated by

a military voter, a military voter's original military ballot

application and military ballot must be returned by mail or in person.

4. Ballots for military voters shall be mailed or otherwise

distributed by the board of education, in accordance with the preferred

method of transmission, as soon as practicable, but not later than

twenty-five days before any election as provided in this article, and

fourteen days before any election as provided in article fifty-three of

this title.

5. The military voter shall mark the military ballot provided for in

this article in the same manner as an absentee ballot. After marking the

ballot, he or she shall fold such ballot and enclose it in the inner

affirmation envelope bearing the military voter's affirmation on the

outside of the envelope and seal the envelope. He or she shall then sign

the affirmation, with the blanks properly filled in. The inner

affirmation envelope containing the military ballot shall then be

inserted in the outer envelope addressed to the appropriate board of

education, which shall be mailed or personally delivered to the

appropriate board of education within the time limits provided by this

article.

6. The board of education shall cause all military ballots received by

it before the close of the polls on election day and showing a

cancellation mark of the United States postal service or a foreign

country's postal service, or showing a dated endorsement of receipt by

another agency of the United States government or are signed and dated

by the voter and one witness thereto, with a date which is ascertained

to be not later than the day before election and which must be received

in the office of the clerk of the school district not later than five

p.m. on the day of the election in order to be canvassed.

7. The board of inspectors shall thereafter process such ballots in

the same manner as provided in sections two thousand eighteen-a and two

thousand eighteen-b of this article for the canvassing of absentee

ballots.

8. The board of education shall determine, three days before the first

day for distribution of military ballots, the names of all candidates

duly nominated for public office and the amendments, referenda,

propositions and questions to be voted for on such ballots. If at a

later date the nomination of any candidate named on a military ballot is

found invalid, the ballot shall still be valid, but no vote cast for any

such candidate on such ballot shall be counted at the election. The

failure of any school board to include the name of any candidate or any

proposition or question on the military ballot shall in no way affect

the validity of the election with respect to the office for which the

nomination was made or the validity of the military ballot as to any

other matter.

9. The department is authorized to take such steps and do such things

as, in its opinion, are necessary to make effective the provisions of

any other section, in order to utilize fully any federal or other

facilities in the distribution of military ballots.

10. The provisions of this section shall be liberally construed for

the purpose of providing military voters the opportunity to vote. The

department shall have power to adopt and promulgate regulations to

effectuate the provisions of this section.