Bill > A01325

This bill, known as the Disaster Voting Relief Act of 2015, allows the Governor to temporarily suspend or delay elections in a municipality if a state of emergency is declared, either by the Governor or through a federal disaster declaration. If an election is delayed, it will resume or be rescheduled as soon as possible, with the State Board of Elections providing rules to manage this. Importantly, if a state of emergency is declared within 14 days of an election, any registered voter whose polling place is in the affected area can vote by absentee ballot, even if they don't meet the usual requirements. Furthermore, if a voter casts an affidavit ballot (a ballot used when there are questions about a voter's eligibility at the polling place) in a county affected by a declared emergency, they will not be required to prove they are registered in that specific election district, as long as they are registered to vote within that county. The bill also clarifies that if a voter mistakenly votes at the wrong polling location due to an emergency, their ballot will still be counted by the Board of Elections in their county of residence, provided they were entitled to vote in the election.