NY lets voters get absentee ballots due to virus concerns
New York will allow voters to request absentee ballots for the general election because of an outbreak — like coronavirus — under a new state law signed Thursday.
New Yorkers can now vote by absentee in any election through Jan. 1, 2022, over concern about voting in person during an epidemic or disease outbreak. For weeks, Democrats and voting rights groups had called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign the legislation, which the Democratic-led Legislature passed in late July.
Voters were allowed to vote by absentee ballots in the June primary because of virus concerns. New York typically only allows voters to request absentee ballots if they fall into one of several categories, including absence from one’s county on Election Day.