Makes the following participating agencies for purposes of agency assisted voter registration: public libraries, local housing authorities, and public high schools; directs the state board of elections to promulgate rules and regulations for implementation.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2735
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 17, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sens. GIANARIS, HOYLMAN, KRUEGER, SERRANO, STAVISKY --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Elections
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to designating additional
participating agencies for purposes of agency assisted voter registra-
tion
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 chapter 265 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as
3 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' affairs, 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
23 established or funded by such agencies. Additional state agencies desig-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02827-01-7
S. 2735 2
1 nated as voter registration offices are the department of state and the
2 division of workers' compensation. Such agencies shall be required to
3 offer voter registration forms to persons upon initial application for
4 services, renewal or recertification for services and change of address
5 relating to such services. Such agencies shall also be responsible for
6 providing assistance to applicants in completing voter registration
7 forms, receiving and transmitting the completed application form from
8 all applicants who wish to have such form transmitted to the appropriate
9 board of elections. The state board of elections shall, together with
10 representatives of the department of defense, develop and implement
11 procedures for including recruitment offices of the armed forces of the
12 United States as voter registration offices when such offices are so
13 designated by federal law. The state board shall also make request of
14 the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to include
15 applications for registration by mail with any materials which are given
16 to new citizens. All institutions of the state university of New York
17 and the city university of New York, shall, at the beginning of the
18 school year, and again in January of a year in which the president of
19 the United States is to be elected, provide an application for registra-
20 tion to each student in each such institution. The state board of
21 elections may, by regulation, grant a waiver from any or all of the
22 requirements of this section to any office or program of an agency, if
23 it determines that it is not feasible for such office or program to
24 administer such requirement. Also designated as participating agencies
25 are all public libraries, which shall be required to offer voter regis-
26 tration forms to persons eighteen years of age or older upon initial
27 application for a library card. Also designated as participating agen-
28 cies are all local housing authorities, which shall be required to offer
29 voter registration forms to persons upon initial application for
30 services or recertification for services. Also designated as participat-
31 ing agencies are all public high schools, which shall be required to
32 offer voter registration forms to all seniors upon their graduation.
33 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
34 it shall have become a law; provided that the state board of elections
35 is authorized to promulgate any rules necessary to implement this act on
36 or before its effective date.