Bill Text: NY S01128 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to voter registration form distribution and assistance.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-12-06 - SIGNED CHAP.587 [S01128 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S01128-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1128--A

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 11, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. BENJAMIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the  Committee  on  Elections  --  reported
          favorably  from  said  committee  and  committed  to  the Committee on
          Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended,  ordered  reprinted  as
          amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to voter registration form
          distribution and assistance

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The opening paragraph of section 5-211 of the election law,
     2  as amended by section 1 of part AA of chapter 56 of the laws of 2019, is
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    Each agency designated as a participating agency under the  provisions
     5  of this section shall implement and administer a program of distribution
     6  of  voter registration forms pursuant to the provisions of this section.
     7  The following offices which provide  public  assistance  and/or  provide
     8  state funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons
     9  with  disabilities are hereby designated as voter registration agencies:
    10  designated as the state agencies which provide public assistance are the
    11  office of children and family services,  the  office  of  temporary  and
    12  disability  assistance  and the department of health. Also designated as
    13  public assistance agencies are all agencies  of  local  government  that
    14  provide  such  assistance.  Designated  as  state  agencies that provide
    15  programs primarily engaged in providing services to people with disabil-
    16  ities are the department of labor, office for  the  aging,  division  of
    17  veterans'  services,  office  of mental health, office of vocational and
    18  educational services for individuals with  disabilities,  commission  on
    19  quality of care for the mentally disabled, office [of mental retardation
    20  and]  for  people  with  developmental  disabilities, commission for the
    21  blind, office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, the office  of
    22  the  advocate for the disabled and all offices which administer programs

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01179-05-9
        S. 1128--A                          2

     1  established or funded by such agencies. Additional [state] participating
     2  agencies designated as voter registration offices are the department  of
     3  state  and  the [division] district offices of the workers' compensation
     4  board. Such agencies shall be required to offer voter registration forms
     5  to  persons  upon initial application for services, renewal or recertif-
     6  ication for services  and  upon  change  of  address  relating  to  such
     7  services.  Such agencies shall also be responsible for providing assist-
     8  ance to applicants in completing voter registration forms, receiving and
     9  transmitting the completed application form from all applicants who wish
    10  to have such form transmitted to the appropriate board of elections. The
    11  state board of elections shall, together  with  representatives  of  the
    12  United  States  department  of defense, develop and implement procedures
    13  for including recruitment offices of the  armed  forces  of  the  United
    14  States as voter registration offices when such offices are so designated
    15  by  federal law. The state board of elections shall also make request of
    16  the United States [Immigration and Naturalization  Service]  Citizenship
    17  and  Immigration  Services  to  include applications for registration by
    18  mail with any materials which are given to  new  citizens.  [All  insti-
    19  tutions  of  the state university of New York and the city university of
    20  New York, shall, at the beginning of the school year, and again in Janu-
    21  ary of a year in which the president of  the  United  States  is  to  be
    22  elected, provide an application for registration to each student in each
    23  such institution. The state board of elections may, by regulation, grant
    24  a  waiver  from  any  or  all of the requirements of this section to any
    25  office or program of an agency, if it determines that it is not feasible
    26  for such office or program to administer such requirement.]
    27    § 2. Section 5-211 of the election law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    28  subdivision 18 to read as follows:
    29    18.  (a)  On  or before January first, two thousand twenty, all insti-
    30  tutions of the state university of New York and the city  university  of
    31  New  York  shall create and make available to all students a webpage for
    32  voter education on each such institution's website, containing a link to
    33  an application for voter registration, a link to an application  for  an
    34  absentee  ballot, contact information for the county board of elections,
    35  and the name and contact information for the  administrator  responsible
    36  for  voter registration assistance on each campus. Each such institution
    37  shall, at the beginning of the school year, and again in  January  of  a
    38  year  in  which  the  president  of  the United States is to be elected,
    39  provide an application for voter registration to each  student  in  each
    40  such  institution.  Such  institutions  shall also offer each student an
    41  application for an absentee ballot. Such institutions shall provide  the
    42  same  degree  of  assistance as required of participating agencies. Each
    43  institution shall be considered in compliance  with  these  requirements
    44  for  each  student  to  whom  the institution electronically transmits a
    45  message containing the link to the webpage for voter education  and  the
    46  link to an application for voter registration, if such information is in
    47  an electronic message devoted exclusively to voter registration.
    48    (b)  Each  institution  shall on or before January first, two thousand
    49  twenty, and each subsequent year, submit a report to the state board  of
    50  elections that includes:
    51    (i) the efforts of the institution to register voters in the preceding
    52  calendar year;
    53    (ii)  a  date-stamped  screen  shot of the webpage for voter education
    54  that contains the required  information  under  paragraph  (a)  of  this
    55  subdivision;
        S. 1128--A                          3

     1    (iii)  the  number  of students who were registered for course work in
     2  the preceding twelve months  at  such  institution  and  the  number  of
     3  students  who  clicked  on  the  links  to online voter registration and
     4  absentee ballot applications; and
     5    (iv)  any  other  efforts  or recommendations the institution plans to
     6  implement to improve access to voter registration  and  absentee  ballot
     7  voting for students at the institution.
     8    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.