This comes in from Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda 87th A.D.
I'm pleased to announce that
the New York State Assembly has passed legislation that will render the process of
voting easier. I firmly believe that a cornerstone of any
viable democracy is voter engagement and participation. Under this bill,
early voting would begin on the third Thursday prior to a general
election and go right up until the Thursday before Election Day,
providing voters with a two-week time frame to cast their ballots. In
the case of a primary or special election, early voting would run from
the second Thursday before regular voting until the Thursday prior to
the actual election date, giving voters up to a week of early voting.
Early voting polls would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each weekday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
Local boards of elections would designate at least five early voting sites in each county, or borough, in the case of New York City.
The local board of elections would automatically be designated as a
polling place in each county/borough. Boards of elections would also be
allowed to staff early voting sites with appointed inspectors or their
own employees. Early votes would be secured throughout the early voting
period and the results would not be released prior to the close of polls
on Election Day. In addition, the names of each early voter would be
recorded to ensure that early voters are properly removed from Election
Day poll books.
This early
voting reform would give disabled voters and those who work
non-traditional hours more flexibility to cast their votes well ahead of
Election Day, it would also
create shorter lines at the polls and give local boards of elections
enough time to ensure that no one votes twice in the same election. If made law, New York would join 32 other states and the District of Columbia in permitting an alternative to in-person voting on Election Day.
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