New York will immediately allow all voters in the state to request a mail- in ballot for the November elections. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed bills into law Thursday that, among other things, allow all eligible voters to cite the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to vote absentee.
Voters can begin requesting absentee ballots right away from their local Board of Elections, citing the reason that they fear risks of contracting the coronavirus, or any other contagious illness. It greatly expands the prior, very limited, reasons that were permitted to obtain an absentee ballot.
The bills signed by Cuomo also allow ballots postmarked by Election Day, November 3rd, to be eligible to be counted, as long as elections officials receive them by November 10th.
Government watchdogs praised the action. In a statement, Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York said the “critical reforms” will enable state and local elections boards to “plan and execute the most consequential election this century”.
Jennifer Wilson, with the League of Women Voters, says her group has been deluged with inquiries about how to vote by mail in the November contest, and now she can offer concrete answers.
“We’re thrilled that he signed them,” Wilson said. “We’ re very happy that we can finally give people a straight answer.”
Wilson said people should request an absentee ballot request form now if they don’t have one already. They can get the forms from local board of elections offices. Some, but not all, counties allow those requests to be made over the phone or by email. The League of Women Voters can also help voters obtain them.
But Wilson says voters should not be concerned if they do not get their ballots right away. The actual lay out of the ballots will not be certified until September 9th, so they won’t be ready to be mailed out until after that date.
“Don’t be nervous if you haven’t got your ballot and it's early September,” she said. “They really don’t send them out until closer to late September, early October.”
Due to the changes, it’s estimated that the volume of mail- in ballots could be ten times higher than in past elections.
At a recent legislative hearing on the June primary elections, state Board of Elections commissioner Peter Kosinski expressed concern about the boards’ capabilities to handle the sudden surge.
“It puts a tremendous burden on the system,” Kosinski said on August 11th. “One that it was never really intended to support.”
The bills signed by the governor do not provide for any additional funding for the boards of elections. The state is facing an over $14 billion deficit.
There are also concerns over the slow down in mail deliveries after the removal of mail boxes and mail sorting machines by President Donald Trump’s appointee as post master general, Louis DeJoy. And the postal service has written letters to states warning that there might be delays in handling the expected volume of mail- in ballots.
One of the measures signed will allow ballots to be counted, even if they are not properly postmarked, as long as they get to the board of elections offices by November 4th.
Cuomo has talked about creating additional ballot drop boxes that would be collected directly by elections officials and circumvent the postal system, and some lawmakers have proposed legislation to do so. But the bills do not provide for any additional drop off sites. Wilson, with the League of Women Voters, says ballots can be hand delivered to any local board of elections office. Ballots can also be given directly to poll workers at the voter’s designated early voting site, and at their regular polling place, on Election Day. Early voting begins October 24 and runs through November 1st at various sites that can be located on local board of elections websites.