NY State Senate Bill 2017-S1731

Senate Bill S1731

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Provides that the board of elections shall accept voter registrations electronically through its website

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to elections
Jan 10, 2017	referred to elections

co-Sponsors

2017-S1731 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Add §5-209, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S5237
2013-2014: S1991
2015-2016: S859
2019-2020: S140

2017-S1731 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that the board of elections shall accept voter registrations electronically through its website.

2017-S1731 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1731

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the election law, in relation to
authorizing electronic voter registration

 PURPOSE :

Provides that the Board of Elections shall accept voter registrations
electronically through its website in order to improve poll book
accuracy and remove the voter registration backlogs that tend to
appear before each election.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1. Adds a new section 5-209 to the election law to require the
State Board of Elections to implement online voter registration using
similar provisions to the voter registration card. Registrants who
provide a DMV client identification number would have their signature
transferred from DMV records. Registrants providing only a social
security number would need to show identification when voting for the
first time in order to ensure compliance with signature requirements
and election integrity.

Section 2. Effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

In the first two weeks of October in 2008, the New York City Board of
Elections was crushed under nearly 204,000 voter registration forms
which it had significant difficulty processing. This brought the 2008
total for voter registrations in New York City to nearly 715,000, as
compared with 253,000 in all of 2007.

Local Boards of Elections throughout the State reported similar
unprecedented volume and struggled to get thousands of voter
registration records entered in time for the General Election.
However, many voters still reported that their names were not in poll
books on Election Day. Many of these voters fell victim to data entry
errors, where a simple misspelling in an often ethnic name, made it
nearly impossible to locate their name in the poll book and vote on a
machine. This legislation would use online voter registration to
improve poll book accuracy and cure recent backlogs at local Boards of
Election across the State.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-16:S859/A5564 -Elections/Election Law
2013-14:S1991/A149 -Elections/Election Law
2011-12:S5237/A8632- Elections/Election Law

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2017-S1731 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1731
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 10, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. CARLUCCI, AVELLA, PARKER, PERKINS -- 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 authorizing electronic
   voter registration
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The election law is amended by adding a new section 5-209
 to read as follows:
   § 5-209. ELECTRONIC VOTER REGISTRATION. 1. IN ADDITION  TO  ANY  OTHER
 METHODS  OF  VOTER REGISTRATION PROVIDED FOR IN THIS ARTICLE, ANY QUALI-
 FIED PERSON MAY APPLY FOR REGISTRATION  AND  ENROLLMENT  BY  APPLICATION
 MADE ELECTRONICALLY THROUGH THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS WEBSITE.
   2.  THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL DESIGN A WEBPAGE THAT SERVES AS
 AN ELECTRONIC APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION AND  ENROLLMENT  FORM,  OR  A
 REGISTRATION FORM NECESSITATED BY A CHANGE OF RESIDENCE.
   3. THE VOTER REGISTRATION WEBPAGE:
   (A)  SHALL REQUIRE ONLY SUCH INFORMATION AS WILL ENABLE ELECTION OFFI-
 CIALS TO ASSESS THE APPLICANT'S ELIGIBILITY TO REGISTER TO VOTE, PREVENT
 DUPLICATE REGISTRATION AND TO ADMINISTER VOTER  REGISTRATION  AND  OTHER
 PARTS OF THE ELECTION PROCESS.
   (B)  SHALL  INCLUDE  A  STATEMENT  OF THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR
 VOTER REGISTRATION AND SHALL REQUIRE THE APPLICANT TO ATTEST BY  HIS  OR
 HER  SIGNATURE  THAT HE OR SHE MEETS THOSE REQUIREMENTS UNDER PENALTY OF
 PERJURY.
   (C) SHALL INFORM THE APPLICANT, IN PRINT IDENTICAL TO THAT USED IN THE
 ATTESTATION SECTION OF THE FOLLOWING:
   (I) VOTER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS; AND
   (II) PENALTIES FOR SUBMISSION OF FALSE REGISTRATION APPLICATION.
   (D) SHALL REQUIRE THE APPLICANT TO SUBMIT AT LEAST ONE OF THE  FOLLOW-
 ING WITH HIS OR HER APPLICATION:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD01809-01-7

 S. 1731                             2
 
   (I) HIS OR HER SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER; OR
   (II)  HIS  OR  HER  VALID  NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES
 CLIENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.
   4. INCLUDED ON THE WEBPAGE SHALL BE:
   (A) THE STATEMENT, "IF YOU BELIEVE THAT SOMEONE  HAS  INTERFERED  WITH
 YOUR  RIGHT  TO  REGISTER  OR DECLINE TO REGISTER TO VOTE, YOUR RIGHT TO
 PRIVACY IN DECIDING WHETHER TO REGISTER OR IN APPLYING  TO  REGISTER  TO
 VOTE,  OR  YOUR  RIGHT TO CHOOSE YOUR OWN POLITICAL PARTY OR OTHER POLI-
 TICAL PREFERENCE, YOU MAY FILE A  COMPLAINT  WITH  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF
 ELECTIONS (ADDRESS AND TOLL FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER)."
   (B)  A  TOLL  FREE  NUMBER AT THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS THAT CAN BE
 CALLED FOR ANSWERS TO REGISTRATION QUESTIONS.
   5. WHENEVER AN APPLICANT SUPPLIES THE BOARD WITH HIS OR HER VALID  NEW
 YORK  STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF MOTOR VEHICLES CLIENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER,
 SUCH APPLICANT'S IDENTIFICATION SHALL  BE  DEEMED  VERIFIED.  THE  BOARD
 SHALL  IMPORT  THE  APPLICANT'S  SIGNATURE  FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR
 VEHICLES TO BE USED FOR VERIFICATION PURPOSES AT THE TIME OF  CASTING  A
 BALLOT.
   6.  ELECTRONIC  REGISTRATIONS  MADE  NOT  LATER THAN THE TWENTIETH DAY
 BEFORE AN ELECTION SHALL ENTITLE THE APPLICANT TO VOTE IN SUCH  ELECTION
 PROVIDED THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT THE APPLICANT IS OTHERWISE QUALIFIED.
   7.  ELECTRONIC  APPLICATION FORMS SHALL   BE PROCESSED BY THE BOARD OF
 ELECTIONS IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED BY SECTION 5-210 OF THIS TITLE OR, IF
 THE APPLICANT IS ALREADY REGISTERED TO VOTE FROM ANOTHER ADDRESS IN SUCH
 COUNTY OR CITY, IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED BY SECTION 5-208 OF THIS TITLE.
 THE BOARD SHALL SEND THE APPROPRIATE NOTICE OF APPROVAL OR REJECTION  AS
 REQUIRED BY EITHER SUBDIVISION NINE OF SUCH SECTION 5-210 OR SUBDIVISION
 FIVE OF SUCH SECTION 5-208.
   8.  THE  STATE  BOARD SHALL ADOPT SUCH RULES AND REGULATIONS AS MAY BE
 NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT THE REQUIREMENTS OF  THIS  SECTION.    THE  BOARD
 SHALL  ALSO  ADOPT  SUCH  RULES  AND  REGULATIONS AS MAY BE NECESSARY TO
 REQUIRE COUNTY BOARDS TO PROVIDE THE STATE BOARD WITH  SUCH  INFORMATION
 AND  DATA  AS  THE  BOARD DEEMS NECESSARY TO ASSESS COMPLIANCE WITH THIS
 SECTION AND TO COMPILE SUCH STATISTICS AS MAY BE REQUIRED BY THE FEDERAL
 ELECTIONS COMMISSION.
   9. THE STATE BOARD SHALL DEVELOP AND DISTRIBUTE PUBLIC INFORMATION AND
 PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS RELATING TO THE  PURPOSES  AND  IMPLEMENTATION  OF
 THIS PROGRAM.
   10.  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF MOTOR VEHICLES SHALL COOPERATE WITH THE STATE
 BOARD OF ELECTIONS IN IMPLEMENTING THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the amendment,  addi-
 tion,  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the timely
 implementation of this act on its effective date are  hereby  authorized
 to be made on or before such effective date.

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Senate Bill S1731

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Sponsored By

David Carlucci