STATE OF NEW YORK
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7440
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 4, 2011
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Introduced by M. of A. KAVANAGH -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to voter pre-registration
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph o of subdivision 4 of section 5-500 of the
2 election law, as amended by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended
3 and a new paragraph p is added to read as follows:
4 o. A space for "remarks" regarding other facts required by this chap-
5 ter to be recorded or appropriate to identify the voter[.];
6 p. A space for pre-registering applicants to respond to the following
7 question: "Are you at least 16 years of age and understand that you must
8 be 18 years of age on or before election day to vote, and that until you
9 reach the age of 18 your registration will be marked as 'pending' and
10 you will be unable to cast a ballot in any election?"
11 § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 5-507 to read
12 as follows:
13 § 5-507. Voter pre-registration and education on voter pre-registra-
14 tion. 1. Pre-registration. a. A person who is at least sixteen years of
15 age and who is otherwise qualified to register to vote may pre-register
16 to vote, and shall be automatically registered upon reaching the age of
17 eligibility, following verification of the person's qualifications and
18 address.
19 b. A person who is currently (i) seventeen years of age on the date of
20 a primary election, (ii) who will be eighteen years of age on the date
21 of the general election, and (iii) who is otherwise eligible to vote,
22 may vote in the primary election.
23 2. Encouragement of student voter registration and pre-registration.
24 Local boards of education are required to adopt policies to promote
25 student voter registration and pre-registration. These policies may
26 include collaboration with county boards of elections to conduct voter
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11301-01-1
A. 7440 2
1 registration and pre-registration in high schools. Completion and
2 submission of voter registration or pre-registration forms shall not be
3 a course requirement or graded assignment for students.
4 § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2013. Effective immediate-
5 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations
6 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
7 authorized to be made on or before such date.