Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday, April 8, during his daily COVID-19 briefing that all New Yorkers would be able to apply for an absentee ballot for the June 23 primary and special elections. The governor’s still-pending executive order is expected to codify the third and final component of legislation circulated by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), which called for expanding absentee ballot eligibility to include registered voters who are, “unable or averse to appear personally at polling places due to imminent, impending or urgent disease outbreak, including but not limited to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).”

Dinowitz issued the following statement in response to the Governor’s announcement:

“I am very pleased to hear that Gov. Cuomo has agreed to expand absentee ballot eligibility to all New Yorkers during this pandemic. We saw on Tuesday night in Wisconsin the exact opposite of what good public health policy dictates, and we will need all the time we can get to make sure local Boards of Election are prepared to handle what I expect to be a huge volume of new absentee ballot applications. I have not seen the final language of the relevant Executive Order, but I expect that it will be very consistent with the language my legislation used in order to remain consistent with our New York State Constitution. As June 23 rapidly approaches, I hope that local Boards of Election quickly start to prepare and makes clear what they need to successfully operate all primary and special elections for Congress, the New York State Legislature, political party positions, and any special elections. Nobody should be denied participation in our electoral process due to fear about personal or public health as a result of the coronavirus.”