N.Y. Town Law § 84: Qualifications of electors at town elections

§ 84. Qualifications of electors at town elections. 1. No person shall

be entitled to vote upon any proposition for raising, appropriating or

expending money or incurring any town liability, or for the sale or

other disposition of town land or property, unless he or she is an

elector of the town; nor shall he or she be entitled to vote upon any

proposition for raising, appropriating or expending money or incurring

any liability which shall be a charge wholly against a district or a

portion of said town unless he or she is an elector.

2. The town board of a town may, by resolution adopted at a regular

meeting, determine that thereafter personal registration of voters shall

be required for special town elections. Such resolution and the notice

hereinafter provided for shall specify the day or days, the place or

places, and the hours during which a board or boards of registration

shall meet for the purpose of preparing a register of voters of the town

qualified to vote in such special elections, who shall present

themselves personally for registration for such special election. The

town clerk shall give notice at the expense of the town, by the

publication of a notice in a newspaper published in said town, if there

be any, or, if there be none, in a newspaper published in the county

having general circulation in the town, specifying the day or days, the

place or places, and hours during which the board or boards of

registration will meet for the purpose of preparing a register of

qualified voters of the town as provided in this section. The first

publication of such notice shall be at least ten days prior to the first

day fixed by the town board on which boards of registration shall meet.

In addition, the town clerk shall post or cause to be posted in five

conspicuous places in said town copies of such notice at least ten days

prior to the first day fixed by the town board on which the boards of

registration shall meet.

3. In such event, the town board shall select from the list of

election inspectors previously designated for general election purposes,

not less than two nor more than four persons to constitute a board of

registration for each voting place designated by the town board,

provided, however, a town board may, by resolution adopted at a regular

meeting, determine that one or more boards of registration shall be

reasonably capable of carrying out the personal registration

requirements, as provided in this section, for all voting places

designated for such special town election. Each member of a board of

registration shall be entitled to compensation at a rate to be fixed by

the town board for time spent upon the duties of his office.

4. Such boards of registration shall meet on such days as the town

board shall, by said resolution designate, the last day of which shall

not be more than fifteen nor less than ten days preceding such special

town election at the place in each election district where the election

is to be held, and at such hours as the town board shall designate,

which shall include at least four consecutive hours between twelve

o'clock noon and nine o'clock in the evening of each day required for

the preparation of the register for such election, which shall include,

at a minimum, a space for the name of the voter and his address within

the town, a space for the voter's signature to be signed on the day of

the election and a space in which there shall be entered the

qualifications for voters as provided by this section. All the

provisions of the election law in relation to the registration of voters

shall, so far as applicable, apply to the registration provided for by

this section and such special elections in such towns shall be conducted

in the manner provided by this chapter and the election law, except that

no person shall be entitled to vote thereat whose name does not appear

upon the register of the voting place in which he claims to be entitled

to vote.

5. In order to assist boards of registration in the preparation of

their registers, the town clerk, prior to the first meeting of such

boards of registration, shall obtain from the board of elections of the

county in which such town is located, the list of names and addresses of

all voters registered with such board of elections on or before the

twenty-third day before such special election. The town clerk shall

deliver the names and addresses of qualified voters to the appropriate

board or boards of registration on or before the first meeting of such

board or boards. At the first and subsequent meetings of the board of

registration for each voting place designated by the town board for such

special town election, such board of registration shall place on the

register described in subdivision four hereof the names of all qualified

voters and all other qualified voters who personally appear, those

voters who have made application for early mail ballots, and those

military voters and such other voters who are absent by reason of

confining illness or physical disability or whose duties, occupation or

business required them to be outside of the state of New York, having

the qualifications of voters prescribed in this section and who have

made application for absentee ballots as certified to them by the town

clerk.

6. The register prepared as provided in this section shall immediately

upon its completion and not more than eighteen hours thereafter; be

filed in the office of the town clerk, and thereafter shall at all

reasonable times be open to inspection by any qualified voter of the

town on each day up to and including the day next preceding the day set

for such town election, except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

Additions, corrections, challenges and judicial review of registration

procedure shall so far as practicable conform to sections 5-218, 5-220

and 16-108 of the election law.