Voters in New York who cast their ballot via absentee may soon be able to track its progress through an online system. 

State lawmakers in the Assembly on Wednesday approved a bill that would create a trackable system for absentee voting, similar to a program already in place in New York City. 

The measure, yet to pass in the state Senate, comes as New York is moving to expand absentee eligibility for all voters in the state after the COVID-19 pandemic led to no-excuse absentee access in 2020. 

“We have continued to take steps to make it as easy as possible for New Yorkers to vote in our elections, and in a few short months voters will have the opportunity to enshrine permanent no-excuse absentee balloting in our state constitution," said Democratic Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz. "It is imperative that we make sure voters maintain confidence in our electoral systems, regardless of the method by which they choose to vote."

The online system would track applications for absentee ballots, when it has been received by elections officials, whether it has been approved and when the ballot has been mailed to the voter as well as whether the ballot, once cast, has been accepted or rejected. It would also provide a reason to the voter as to why the ballot was rejected.