Add Art 5 Title 10 §§5-1000 - 5-1003, 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, 2025.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6173--B
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 31, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections -- reported
favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on
Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the
Committee on Elections in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
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:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10609-10-3
S. 6173--B 2
1 TITLE X
2 MULTISTATE VOTER LIST MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP AUTHORIZATION
3 Section 5-1000. Joining a multistate voter list maintenance organiza-
4 tion.
5 5-1001. Designating a member representative.
6 5-1002. Authorization to share registration records with multi-
7 state voter list maintenance organization.
8 5-1003. Use of information from a multistate voter list mainte-
9 nance organization.
10 § 5-1000. Joining a multistate voter list maintenance organization.
11 The state board of elections shall join the state as a member in one or
12 more multistate voter list maintenance organizations including, but not
13 limited to, the electronic registration information center or its
14 successor. The state board of elections shall expend funds for member-
15 ship fees, dues and other expenses related to such membership.
16 § 5-1001. Designating a member representative. The state board of
17 elections shall designate the chief election official of the state of
18 New York as the representative to the board of directors of any multi-
19 state voter list maintenance organization that the state is a member of
20 including, but not limited to, the electronic registration information
21 center or its successor.
22 § 5-1002. Authorization to share registration records with multistate
23 voter list maintenance organization. 1. Notwithstanding any other
24 provision of law, the member representative designated under section
25 5-1001 of this title may provide to the multistate voter list mainte-
26 nance organization that they are a member of the following information
27 from the statewide voter registration list as defined in section 5-614
28 of this article:
29 (a) all name fields;
30 (b) all address fields;
31 (c) date of birth;
32 (d) state voter identification number;
33 (e) voter's last registration date;
34 (f) activity dates as defined by the multistate voter list maintenance
35 organization; and
36 (g) voter history.
37 2. The member representative designated under section 5-1001 of this
38 title may also provide any information to the multistate voter list
39 maintenance organization provided to such member representative from the
40 department of motor vehicles pursuant to section two hundred nineteen-a
41 of the vehicle and traffic law.
42 3. The state board of elections shall not provide any information on
43 any person in the confidential voter program pursuant to section 5-508
44 of this article for any purpose under this title. Nothing in this title
45 shall be construed to require the department of motor vehicles to
46 provide any information on any person in such program.
47 4. The state board of elections is authorized to promulgate any rule
48 or regulation necessary to effectuate the provisions of this title.
49 § 5-1003. Use of information from a multistate voter list maintenance
50 organization. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
51 the state board of elections shall use any information provided by a
52 multistate voter list maintenance organization that the state has joined
53 pursuant to section 5-1001 of this title, including but not limited to,
54 the use of such information in list maintenance activities performed
55 pursuant to section 5-614 of this article.
S. 6173--B 3
1 2. To avoid inadvertent or accidental registration of persons ineligi-
2 ble to register to vote, any mailing to any potentially eligible but
3 unregistered person shall state the voter registration criteria, includ-
4 ing but not limited to, any citizenship requirements.
5 § 3. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
6 219-a to read as follows:
7 § 219-a. State membership in a multistate voter list maintenance
8 organization. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
9 contrary, the commissioner is authorized to provide to the state's
10 representative to a multistate voter list maintenance organization,
11 designated under section 5-1001 of the election law, the following
12 information: (a) all name fields; (b) all address fields; (c) DMV ID
13 number; (d) last four digits of the DMV ID holder's social security
14 number; (e) date of birth; (f) current record status; (g) phone number;
15 and (h) e-mail address, provided that the conditions and terms of
16 membership are consistent with the provisions of this chapter and title
17 ten of article five of the election law pertaining to such membership or
18 reciprocal recognition of vehicle registrations.
19 2. The commissioner shall not provide any information pursuant to this
20 section of persons who are not citizens.
21 § 4. New York state shall join a multistate voter list maintenance
22 organization promptly after the effective date of this act and shall
23 complete its registration with a multistate voter list maintenance
24 organization on or before July 31, 2025.
25 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
