Add Art 5 Title 10 §§5-1000 - 5-1004, El L; add §219-a, V & T L
Permits the state board of elections to join certain multistate voter list maintenance organizations and provide such organizations with certain voter information; requires the state to join a multistate voter list maintenance organization on or before July 31, 2026.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1356
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
AN ACT to amend the election law and the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to joining multistate voter list maintenance organizations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. As the official record of
2 all eligible voters in a state, a state's voter registration rolls are
3 the foundation of free, fair, and accurate elections. Illegal voting is
4 exceedingly rare but maintaining accurate voter rolls reduces the oppor-
5 tunity for such behavior and it helps build confidence in election
6 outcomes. However, keeping voter rolls up to date is a challenge
7 because, every day, voters move or die. Voters do not always remember to
8 update their registration when they move. These challenges are especial-
9 ly acute in states with large and highly mobile populations. Partic-
10 ipation in a multistate voter list maintenance organization can improve
11 the accuracy of New York's voter registration rolls. A multistate voter
12 list maintenance organization is a coordinating entity between states
13 that aids them in identifying voters who may no longer be eligible to
14 vote, who have moved, or who have died. A voter list maintenance organ-
15 ization may also offer other information useful to improving voter
16 registration or enhancing the integrity of election administration.
17 § 2. Article 5 of the election law is amended by adding a new title 10
18 to read as follows:
19 TITLE X
20 MULTISTATE VOTER LIST MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP AUTHORIZATION
21 Section 5-1000. Joining a multistate voter list maintenance organiza-
22 tion.
23 5-1001. Designating a member representative.
24 5-1002. Authorization to share registration records with multi-
25 state voter list maintenance organization.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03193-03-5
S. 1356 2
1 5-1003. Use of information from a multistate voter list mainte-
2 nance organization.
3 5-1004. Withdrawal from a multistate voter list maintenance
4 organization.
5 § 5-1000. Joining a multistate voter list maintenance organization.
6 The state board of elections shall join the state as a member in one or
7 more multistate voter list maintenance organizations including, but not
8 limited to, the electronic registration information center or its
9 successor. The state board of elections shall expend funds for member-
10 ship fees, dues and other expenses related to such membership.
11 § 5-1001. Designating a member representative. The state board of
12 elections shall designate the chief election official of the state of
13 New York as the representative to the board of directors of any multi-
14 state voter list maintenance organization that the state is a member of
15 including, but not limited to, the electronic registration information
16 center or its successor.
17 § 5-1002. Authorization to share registration records with multistate
18 voter list maintenance organization. 1. Notwithstanding any other
19 provision of law, the member representative designated under section
20 5-1001 of this title may provide to the multistate voter list mainte-
21 nance organization that they are a member of the following information
22 from the statewide voter registration list as defined in section 5-614
23 of this article:
24 (a) all name fields;
25 (b) all address fields;
26 (c) date of birth;
27 (d) state voter identification number;
28 (e) voter's last registration date;
29 (f) activity dates as defined by the multistate voter list maintenance
30 organization; and
31 (g) voter history.
32 2. The member representative designated under section 5-1001 of this
33 title may also provide any information to the multistate voter list
34 maintenance organization provided to such member representative from the
35 department of motor vehicles pursuant to section two hundred nineteen-a
36 of the vehicle and traffic law.
37 3. The state board of elections shall not provide any information on
38 any person in the confidential voter program pursuant to section 5-508
39 of this article for any purpose under this title. Nothing in this title
40 shall be construed to require the department of motor vehicles to
41 provide any information on any person in such program.
42 4. The state board of elections is authorized to promulgate any rule
43 or regulation necessary to effectuate the provisions of this title.
44 § 5-1003. Use of information from a multistate voter list maintenance
45 organization. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
46 the state board of elections shall use any information provided by a
47 multistate voter list maintenance organization that the state has joined
48 pursuant to section 5-1001 of this title, including but not limited to,
49 the use of such information in list maintenance activities performed
50 pursuant to section 5-614 of this article.
51 2. To avoid inadvertent or accidental registration of persons ineligi-
52 ble to register to vote, any mailing to any potentially eligible but
53 unregistered person shall state the voter registration criteria, includ-
54 ing but not limited to, any citizenship requirements.
55 § 5-1004. Withdrawal from a multistate voter list maintenance organ-
56 ization. Withdrawal of the state from a multistate voter list mainte-
S. 1356 3
1 nance organization shall require an affirmative vote of the state board
2 of elections commissioners pursuant to subdivision four of section 3-100
3 of this chapter.
4 § 3. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
5 219-a to read as follows:
6 § 219-a. State membership in a multistate voter list maintenance
7 organization. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
8 contrary, the commissioner is authorized to provide to the state's
9 representative to a multistate voter list maintenance organization,
10 designated under section 5-1001 of the election law, the following
11 information: (a) all name fields; (b) all address fields; (c) DMV ID
12 number; (d) last four digits of the DMV ID holder's social security
13 number; (e) date of birth; (f) current record status; (g) phone number;
14 and (h) email address, provided that the conditions and terms of member-
15 ship are consistent with the provisions of this chapter and title ten of
16 article five of the election law pertaining to such membership or recip-
17 rocal recognition of vehicle registrations.
18 2. The commissioner shall not knowingly provide any information pursu-
19 ant to this section of persons who are not citizens.
20 § 4. New York state shall join a multistate voter list maintenance
21 organization promptly after the effective date of this act and shall
22 complete its registration with a multistate voter list maintenance
23 organization on or before July 31, 2026.
24 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
