Bill > A3817

Introduced Session

This bill makes various changes to certain in-person, early voting, and vote by mail practices and procedures. Specifically, the bill requires ballot privacy sleeves at each polling place; requires that early and vote by mail votes be reported in the election district where the voter resides; ends the mail-in ballot cure deadline 9 days after election day; ends the period for when a ballot can be received and counted, if it is postmarked on the day of the election, 72 hours after the election; allows mail-in ballots to be processed starting five days before the election and canvassed starting three days before the election; and allows voters to request a mail-in ballot, and to declare or change their political party affiliation, using the online voter registration system. This bill also provides that, once a person has submitted the online voter registration form, the online voter registration system would not accept a new voter registration form submission from the same person until the previous submission has been processed. Privacy Sleeves This bill requires privacy sleeves be provided to voters when hand-marked paper ballots are used to cast the voter's vote at the polling place. The bill also requires ballot scanning machines to have a privacy screen, shield, or curtain and requires the use of privacy screens and shields at polling places. Reporting of Early and Mail-in Votes This bill would require each early vote (except for provisional ballots cast at an early voting site) and each mail-in vote cast, canvassed, and tallied in an election to be reported in the results for the election district in which the voter resides. Mail-in Ballot Cure Deadline Under current law, a mail-in voter may cure a defect in their mail-in ballot not later than 48 hours prior to the final certification of the results of the election. This bill would change the cure deadline to midnight on the 9th day following the day of the election. Postmarked Mail-in Ballot Acceptance Deadline Under current law, every mail-in ballot that bears a postmark date before or of the day of the election and that is received by the county board within 144 hours (six days) after the time of the closing of the polls for the election is considered valid and shall be canvassed. This bill would change that postmarked ballot acceptance deadline to within 72 hours after election day (3 days). Mail-in Ballot Processing Under current law, mail-in ballot inner envelopes are prohibited from being opened prior to election day. Under this bill, county boards of election would be permitted to begin opening the inner envelopes for each mail-in ballot no earlier than five days prior to the day of the election, and begin canvassing such ballots no earlier than three days prior to the day of the election. The bill directs the Secretary of State to establish guidelines concerning the early canvassing process. If a county board of elections begins opening the inner envelopes and canvassing the mail-in ballots from the inner envelopes prior to the day of the election, the county board is required to implement the measures necessary to ensure the security and secrecy of the mail-in ballots. The bill requires the contents of the mail-in ballots and the results of the ballot canvassing to remain confidential and be disclosed only in accordance with current law, regulations, and guidelines concerning the disclosure of election results. The bill prohibits disclosure prior to the close of polls on the day of the election. Under the bill, as provided under R.S.19:34-13, any person who is authorized to receive and canvass completed mail-in-ballots who knowingly discloses to the public the contents of a mail-in ballot prior to the time designated by law for the closing of the polls for each election is guilty of a crime of the third degree. Online Application for Mail-in Ballot This bill allows registered voters to submit an application to vote by mail electronically, using the online voter registration website maintained by the Secretary of State, up to seven days before an election. Under current law, registered voters may apply to vote by mail using a paper application form up to seven days before an election, and may apply for a mail-in ballot in person up to 3:00 PM the day before election day. This bill would allow registered voters to complete a mail-in ballot application form electronically using the online voter registration website established by the Secretary of State. Under the bill, applications to vote by mail submitted online would be forwarded to the appropriate county clerk. The bill requires the electronic application to be signed by the applicant using the applicant's electronic signature in the Statewide Voter Registration System, and to state the applicant's place of voting residence and the address to which the ballot will be sent. The bill directs the Secretary of State to prepare a mail-in ballot electronic application form and authorizes the secretary to promulgate any rules and regulations deemed necessary. The bill also updates the notices required to be published ahead of each election concerning the manner of applying to vote by mail, to include the online application form authorized by the bill. Online Political Party Affiliation Under current law, a person registering to vote may declare a political party affiliation on the voter registration form, and thereafter may update such affiliation using a paper form. This bill allows a person registering to vote, and registered voters, to submit or update their political party affiliation, including the option to not be affiliated with any political party, using the online voter registration system maintained by the Secretary of State.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Daniel Benson (D)*,  Anthony Verrelli (D)*,  Andrew Zwicker (D)*,  Mila Jasey (D),  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D), 

Approved P.L.2022, c.67. (on 07/28/2022)

Official Document