N.Y. Election Law § 10-106: Military voters; registration and application for ballots

§ 10-106. Military voters; registration and application for ballots.

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 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 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.