N.Y. Education Law § 2019-a: Voting by persons whose names are not in the registration poll ledgers

§ 2019-a. Voting by persons whose names are not in the registration

poll ledgers. 1. Whenever a voter presents himself and offers to cast a

ballot at any school district meeting or election, and the address at

which he claims to live is in the election district in which he seeks to

vote but his name cannot be found on the list of registered voters or in

the registration poll ledger, he shall be permitted to vote only as

hereinafter provided:

a. He may present a court order requiring that he be permitted to

vote. He shall be required to sign his full name on top of the first

page of such order, together with his registration serial number, if

any. The voter shall then be permitted to vote in the manner otherwise

prescribed for voters whose names are found on the registration lists,

whose registration poll records are found in the ledger; or

b. He may request, swear to and subscribe an affidavit stating that he

has duly registered to vote, the address in such election district from

which he registered, that he remains a duly qualified voter in such

election district and that his registration poll record appears to be

lost or misplaced, or that his name has been incorrectly omitted from

the list of registered voters. Such affidavit shall be printed on an

envelope and shall contain an acknowledgement that the affiant

understands that any false statement made therein is perjury punishable

according to law. The voter shall then be permitted to vote a paper

ballot. Such ballot shall thereupon be placed in the envelope containing

his affidavit, and the envelope sealed and returned to the board of

education with other records of the meeting or election.

2. a. Before certifying the result of any school district meeting or

election at which voters are required to sign their registration poll

records or the list of registered voters before voting, the board of

education shall proceed in the manner hereinafter prescribed to cast and

canvass any ballots voted by voters whose registration poll records were

missing or whose names did not appear on the list of registered voters

on the day of such meeting or election. Each such ballot shall be

retained in the original envelope containing the voter's affidavit and

signature, in which it is delivered to the board of education until such

time as it is to be cast and canvassed.

b. The board of education shall designate itself or such of its

employees as it shall deem appropriate as a set of poll clerks to cast

and canvass such ballots, and fix a time and place for their meeting for

such purposes, provided that such meeting shall be no more than ten days

after any election at which such ballots are voted. The board may

designate additional sets of poll clerks and if it designates more than

one such set, shall apportion among all such sets the election districts

from which such ballots have been received, provided that all such

ballots from a single election district shall be assigned to a single

set of clerks. Each such set of clerks shall be deemed a central board

of inspectors for purposes of this section.

c. At least five days prior to the time fixed for such meeting, the

board shall send notice by first class mail to each candidate entitled

to have had watchers or challengers present at the polls in any election

district from which any such ballot has been received, or, if such

notice is sent prior to the day of the election, to each such candidate

so entitled for each election district in the board's jurisdiction. Such

notice shall state the time and place fixed by the board for such

canvass.

d. Each such candidate shall be entitled to appoint such number of

watchers or challengers to attend upon each central board of inspectors

as such candidate was entitled to appoint at such election in any one

election district for which such central board of inspectors is

designated to act.

3. Upon assembling at the time and place fixed for such meeting, each

central board of inspectors shall consider each affidavit envelope and

ballot from the election districts assigned to it.

a. First, the central board of inspectors shall reject any ballot not

found sealed in the envelope in which it was placed at the polling

place, second the ballot of any voter for whom there is no registration

poll record or central registration record in the office of the board of

elections.

b. The central board of inspectors shall then proceed to consider,

cast, and canvass the remaining envelopes and the ballots therein

contained as nearly as practicable in the manner provided by this

chapter for a board of inspectors to consider, cast, and canvass paper

ballots at school district meetings or elections.

c. Any person lawfully present may object to the refusal to cast or

canvass any ballot on the grounds that the voter is a properly qualified

voter of the election district, or to the casting or canvassing of any

ballot on the grounds that the voter is not a properly qualified voter

of the election district, or otherwise not entitled to cast such ballot.

When any such objection is made, the board of education shall forthwith

proceed to determine such objection and reject or cast such ballot

according to such determination.

d. Upon completing the casting and canvassing of ballots as

hereinabove provided for any election district, the central board of

inspectors shall thereupon, as nearly as practicable in the manner

provided in this section, verify the number of ballots so cast, tally

the votes so cast, add such tally to the previous tally of all votes

cast in such election district, and announce the result.

4. Whenever the ballot of any person, voted in an affidavit envelope

in the manner prescribed by this section, is rejected under the

provisions of this section on the grounds that such person is not a

qualified voter of the election district wherein he sought to vote, the

board of education shall immediately notify such person by first class

mail directed to the address given in his affidavit, of the rejection of

his ballot, together with the reason therefor and the appropriate

information on the times and places where he may register or reregister.

Where appropriate, a form of application for personal registration by

mail pursuant to the election law shall be included with such notice.