Bill > S04947

This bill, known as the Disaster Voting Relief Act of 2015, allows for temporary changes to voting procedures during a state of emergency. It grants the Governor the authority to suspend or delay an election in a municipality if a state of emergency is declared or a federal disaster declaration is issued, with any delayed voting to be resumed or rescheduled as soon as possible. The bill also enables qualified voters within an affected area to vote absentee if a state of emergency is declared within fourteen days of an election, even if they don't meet the usual absentee voting requirements. Furthermore, it modifies rules for affidavit ballots, allowing voters to cast them even if their registration isn't perfectly aligned with their current polling location within the county, as long as they are registered to vote in that county. Finally, it ensures that ballots cast by voters who mistakenly appeared at the wrong polling location due to a declared emergency will still be counted if they were otherwise entitled to vote.