STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8165
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 3, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE, GOTTFRIED, LINARES, THIELE, REILLY,
PAULIN, MENG, GALEF, SPANO, ROSENTHAL, ORTIZ, M. MILLER, N. RIVERA,
CAHILL, MOLINARO, P. RIVERA, MARKEY, GABRYSZAK, ENGLEBRIGHT, ROBERTS,
ABINANTI, CASTRO, WEPRIN, TENNEY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
BOYLAND, CERETTO, GOODELL, MAGEE, SWEENEY, WEISENBERG -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to establishing the online
voter registration act of 2011
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "online voter registration act of 2011".
3 § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 5-205 to read
4 as follows:
5 § 5-205. Online registration. 1. a. The New York state board of
6 elections shall ensure that the following services are available to the
7 public at any time on the official public websites of the appropriate
8 state and local election officials:
9 (i) Online application for voter registration, the content of which
10 shall be substantially identical to the form provided for in this arti-
11 cle;
12 (ii) Online assistance to those applying to register to vote;
13 (iii) Online completion and submission by applicants of the voter
14 registration form, including, but not limited to the electronic signa-
15 ture of the applicant pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision; and
16 (iv) Online receipt of completed voter registration applications.
17 b. An application submitted online pursuant to this section shall be
18 deemed submitted on the date it is sent.
19 c. An applicant for voter registration under this section shall have
20 their signature on file at the New York state department of motor vehi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11733-02-1
A. 8165 2
1 cles or the department of social services sent electronically to the New
2 York state board of elections to complete their application.
3 2. a. Upon receipt of a completed voter registration application under
4 this section, the official website shall generate an immediate electron-
5 ic confirmation that the application has been received, with
6 instructions as to how the applicant may check the status of the appli-
7 cation thereafter.
8 b. The appropriate state or local official shall inform the applicant
9 for voter registration of the disposition of the application by regular
10 mail pursuant to subdivision nine of section 5-210 of this title and, at
11 the option of the applicant, by electronic mail.
12 c. No legal distinction shall be made between registration under this
13 section and in-person, mail, or any other valid registration methods.
14 3. a. The New York state board of elections shall ensure that any
15 legally registered voter on the state computerized list may at any time
16 update such voter's registration information, including, but not limited
17 to such voter's address and electronic mail address, online through the
18 official public website of the list, or the website of any agency at
19 which the voter may update the information in person.
20 b. The New York state board of elections shall revise any information
21 on the computerized list to reflect the update made by the voter at any
22 time up to and including seven days before the date of the next
23 election.
24 c. Upon the online submission of updated registration information
25 under this subdivision, the appropriate state or local election official
26 shall send a notice confirming receipt of the updated information by
27 regular mail, and, at the option of the voter, by electronic mail.
28 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
29 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
30 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
31 tation of this act on its effective date is authorized to be made on or
32 before such date.
