§ 5-215. Veterans' absentee registration. 1. The board of elections in the county in which a veterans' hospital is located shall appoint a board of registration which shall attend each veterans' hospital between the hours of nine o'clock in the morning and five o'clock in the evening on the seventh Thursday before each general election and, in the event that it be necessary for the completion of its duties, on the seventh Friday before such election except that if any of the religious holidays of Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Simchas Torah, Shmini Atzereth or Succoth shall fall on such days, such registration shall be held on the next regular business day which does not fall on any of such religious holidays, and shall receive from residents or patients therein, or their spouses, parents and children, the applications of such of them as desire and are qualified to be registered by absentee registration.

2. After the applicant completes and signs the application, or has it signed for him, it shall be deposited by or for him in an envelope and sealed. Before receiving the next application the board shall address the envelope to the board of elections in the county where the applicant resides and note upon a form provided for such purpose the date of the application, the name and residence address of the applicant and the name of the hospital at which the application was received.

3. At the end of each day each member of such board shall sign the form containing the list of applicants with their names and addresses and they shall, no later than the next day, return the list and the sealed envelopes to the board of elections in the county where such hospital is located.

4. The board of elections upon receipt of such applications shall immediately mail those applications that are addressed to another board of elections and shall process those applications addressed to it.

5. If a veterans health administration hospital in which any veteran entitled to vote in this state is a resident or patient, is located outside the State of New York, an application for an absentee ballot signed by such veteran or his or her spouse, parent or child accompanying or being with him or her, if a qualified voter and a resident of the same election district, shall constitute permanent personal registration.

6. All applications made and received pursuant to this section shall be processed in the manner provided herein for personal registration by mail.

7. The cost incurred by the county in which such veterans' hospital is located, for the registration of voters as herein provided, may be apportioned to the counties in which such voters reside in proportion to the number of applicants for such registration residing in such counties.

8. The board of elections shall not be required to send a board of central registration to each veterans' hospital in such county, pursuant to the provisions of this section, if, in lieu thereof, it shall provide such hospital with mail registration application forms in sufficient quantity so that each resident or patient of such hospital who wishes to register will be able to do so. A complete application received from a resident or patient whose residence is in a county other than the county in which the hospital is located shall be immediately transmitted to the appropriate board of elections.