Cuomo OKs bill to allow voters to request absentee ballots immediately

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed three laws Thursday to greatly expand absentee voting in New York amid the coronavirus pandemic, including one that would allow voters to begin requesting ballots immediately.

Another will allow New Yorkers to cite COVID-19 as a reason to obtain an absentee ballot. The final one would allow absentee ballots to be mailed as late as Election Day and still be counted.

Together, the bills could clear the path for many, if not most, New Yorkers to vote by mail this fall, officials said.

The Democratic-controlled State Legislature had approved all of the measures in July, saying they would address some of the problems the pandemic triggered during the June primary; the pandemic has spurred a huge growth in absentee and mail-in voting this year.

In signing the bills, Cuomo, also a Democrat, cited the Trump administration’s attempt to change postal service operations that could hinder the delivery of absentee ballots.

"The federal administration has ordered an unprecedented attack on the U.S. Postal Service and with COVID-19 threatening our ability to have safe, in-person voting, these measures are critical to ensuring a successful and fair election at one of the most important moments in our nation's history,” Cuomo said. “These actions will further break down barriers to democracy and will make it easier for all New Yorkers to exercise their right to vote this November.”

Under previous law, voters couldn’t request an absentee ballot until 30 days before Election Day. With voters seeking to avoid polling sites in June for fear of contracting the virus, an unprecedented number requested absentee ballots — leading to huge backlogs and postal delays and resulting in some not receiving the ballot until after the June 23 primary.

Removing the 30-day requirement will give voters, election boards and post offices more time to apply for and process ballots, legislators said.

“With an increasing number of voters planning to vote by absentee ballot this year, it is important to give local boards of election sufficient time to process applications and send out ballots, and maximize the time voters have to complete and return them,” Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn), sponsor of the bill, said in a statement.

Cuomo also signed a law to expand the list of reasons for requesting one.

Under the old law, the only health provisions for obtaining an absentee ballot were if the voter was ill or is taking care of someone who is ill. The new law expands the criteria to “allow voters who are concerned about voting in-person due to an epidemic or disease outbreak to request an absentee ballot.”

“Even as we still have many unanswered questions about how the absentee voting process will be conducted, it was imperative that we address the underlying eligibility question first and foremost,” Assemb. Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) said.

The final law changes the last day to mail ballots to Election Day itself, instead of the day before. Also, it mandates local election boards to accept ballots it receives the day after Election Day even if it has no postmark, reasoning that the ballot had to have been mailed at least a day before.