NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A306
SPONSOR: Dinowitz TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the election law, in relation to voter
registration of persons seventeen years of age or older
PURPOSE: Authorizes persons 17 of age or older to register to vote
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 amends paragraph (g) of subdivision 5
of § 5-210 of the election law to provide that an applicant who submits
a applicant to register to vote must be at least 17 years of age at the
time of submission.
Section 2 provides an effective date of July 1, 2013.
JUSTIFICATION: Under current law, a 17-year-old may submit an applica-
tion to register to vote if he or she will turn 18 in the calendar year
in which he or she registers. This bill.would expand that ability to all
17-year-olds. A registered voter's eligibility to cast a ballot will
continue to commence on the voter's 18th birthday. Expanding the appli-
cation period will allow more New Yorkers to register to vote when they
apply for their first senior driver's license at the Department of Motor
Vehicles. Any driver age 17 or older with a junior license who has
successfully completed a driver education course is eligible to apply
for a senior license. It will also make it possible to enroll more
voters while they are still students, thereby increasing the likelihood
of lifelong civic engagement and strengthening our democracy.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2011-12- A7770-A- Referred to Election
Law/S.5038-A. Referred to Elections
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to the state.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
306
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to voter registration of
persons seventeen years of age or older
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of the
2 election law, as amended by chapter 179 of the laws of 2005, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 (g) Notice that the applicant must be a citizen of the United States,
5 is [or will be at least eighteen years old not later than December thir-
6 ty-first of the calendar year in which he or she registers] at least
7 seventeen years old when he or she submits an application to register to
8 vote and a resident of the county or city to which application is made.
9 § 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01493-01-3
