Praise for Absentee Ballot Reforms Passed by State Senate

Reinvent Albany supports the package of absentee ballot bills passed today by the New York State Senate. Last year’s primary elections saw absentee ballots disqualified at rates that made national news, with Brooklyn alone seeing 25% of absentee ballots disqualified. The bills passed today will help prevent the disenfranchisement of voters as the COVID-19 crisis continues and more New Yorkers start to vote by mail. We applaud the Senate’s approval of the legislation and look forward to the Assembly’s forthcoming passage.

Brief descriptions of the bills are below.

S253 (Myrie) – Require ballots with stray marks or writing to be counted when the intent of the voter is unambiguous.

S264 (Myrie) – Changes absentee ballot application deadlines to ensure timely delivery of mail.

S360 (Comrie) – Constitutional amendment allowing for no-excuse absentee voting (second passage; after Assembly approval, the measure must be approved by the voters).

S492 (Hoylman) – Allows the Board of Elections to establish absentee ballot drop-off locations.

S516 (Gianaris) – Relates to when absentee ballots are sent out after receipt of application.

S631 (Salazar) – Allows absentee ballots applications to be submitted more than 30 days before the applicable election day.

S632 (Jackson) – Provides an online portal for requesting an absentee ballot.

S1027 (Gianaris) – Expedites the processing of absentee ballots.

S1028 (Comrie)  – Requires boards of elections to provide a secure online portal for absentee ballot tracking.