PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 15, SECTION 15-120 & 15-122 OF THE NEW YORK STATE ELECTION LAW
ABSENTEE VOTING AT VILLAGE ELECTIONS.
- A qualified elector of a village may vote as an absentee voter under this section if during all the hours of voting will be absent from their county of residence on Elections Day, or who are unable to appear personally at the voting booth because of illness or disability
(a) Unavoidably Absent from the county in which his residence is located because;
(i.) Service in the Armed Forces
The applicant will be absent from their county of residence because they are serving as a member of the United
States armed forces.
(ii.) Students
The applicant will be attending a school that is located outside their county of residence.
(iii) Veterans Administration Hospital Patients
The applicant will be absent from their county of residence because they are a patient at veterans' administration hospital.
(iv) Business The applicant will be absent from their county of residence because of business.
The absence may not be because the applicant's regular and daily place of business is outside of the county.
(b) Vacation The applicant will be absent from their county of residence because they will be on vacation outside of the county.
(c) Parent, Spouse or Child The applicant will be absent from their county of residence because they will be accompanying a person who qualifies for an absentee ballot because they are a member of the armed services, a student, a patient in veterans' administration hospital, on a business trip, or are on vacation.
Section 15-122 Absence Resulting from Illness or Physical Disability
Under certain circumstances, voters are eligible to receive absentee ballots even if they will be physically present in their county of residence.
(1) Illness or Disability Defined
Voters who are unable to appear personally at the poling place in their village because of illness, physical disability, or confinement either at home in a hospital or institution may receive an absentee ballot. Individuals confined at mental institutions do not qualify under this exception.
(2) Registering as permanently Disabled Voter
If not already so designated with the county board of elections, a qualified elector and permanently disabled individual may apply with the village clerk to be designated as permanently disabled voter. Upon receiving an application for permanently disabled voter status, the election inspectors must investigate the facts stated therein. If the facts are deemed true, the inspectors must mark the elector as "Permanently Disabled" in the village register. The inspectors must also mark "Permanently Disabled" in the registration poll records of those voters who are indicated as "Permanently Disabled" on the list of registered voters received from the county board of elections.
For each general or special village election, the village clerk must mail absentee ballots by first class mail to each elector who has been designated by the county or the village as "Permanently Disabled." Once registered as "Permanently Disabled," a voter does not have to apply again for an absentee ballot. The absentee ballots are mailed to the voter's last known address. Clerks must request that the postal authorities not forward the mailed absentee ballots but return the ballot within 5 days if it cannot be delivered to the addressee. Absentee ballots must be sent to "Permanently Disabled" voters as long as they remain qualified voters of the villages and unless the voter fails to return the ballot for the previous two successive general village elections. If the inspectors determine that "Permanently Disabled" voter is no longer entitled to an absentee voter's ballot or, if they determine that the voter must reapply to receive an absentee voter's ballot, the inspectors must notify the elector in writing giving them the reason for their determination.
