S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  3879

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              March 8, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced by Sen. ESPAILLAT -- 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 the state
  and city universities of New York as participating agencies for  voter
  registration  form  distribution  and assistance, and permitting inde-
  pendent institutions of higher education to do the same upon request

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. The opening paragraph of section 5-211 of the election law,
as  amended  by  chapter  200 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as
follows:
  Each agency designated as a participating agency under the  provisions
of this section shall implement and administer a program of distribution
of  voter registration forms pursuant to the provisions of this section.
The following offices which provide  public  assistance  and/or  provide
state funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons
with  disabilities are hereby designated as voter registration agencies:
designated as the state agencies which provide public assistance are the
department of [social services] FAMILY ASSISTANCE and the department  of
health.   Also designated as public assistance agencies are all agencies
of local government that provide such assistance.  Designated  as  state
agencies  that  provide programs primarily engaged in providing services
to people with disabilities are the department of labor, office for  the
aging, division of veterans' affairs, office of mental health, office of
vocational  and  educational services for individuals with disabilities,
commission on quality of care  for  the  mentally  disabled,  office  of
mental  retardation  and  developmental disabilities, commission for the
blind and visually handicapped, office of alcoholism and substance abuse
services, the office of the advocate for the disabled  and  all  offices
which  administer programs established or funded by such agencies. Addi-
tional [state] PARTICIPATING agencies designated as  voter  registration

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD04329-01-1
              

S. 3879                             2

offices  are  the  department  of  state  [and], the [division] DISTRICT
OFFICES of THE workers' compensation BOARD, AND ALL INSTITUTIONS OF  THE
STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEW YORK AND THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK; AND
ANY  DEGREE-GRANTING  INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION DESCRIBED IN ARTI-
CLES  ONE  HUNDRED  FIFTEEN,  ONE  HUNDRED   TWENTY-ONE,   ONE   HUNDRED
TWENTY-THREE,  ONE  HUNDRED  TWENTY-SIX  AND  ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE OF
TITLE VII OF THE EDUCATION LAW WHICH ELECTS TO BE A PARTICIPATING AGENCY
BY FILING WITH THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS A NOTICE IN WHICH  IT  MAKES
SUCH AN ELECTION.  Such agencies shall be required to offer voter regis-
tration  forms  to  persons  upon  initial application for services, FOR
PARTICIPATION IN ACTIVITIES OR FOR USE OF FACILITIES, AND  UPON  renewal
or  recertification  for services, PARTICIPATION IN ACTIVITIES OR USE OF
FACILITIES, and UPON  change  of  address  relating  to  such  services,
PARTICIPATION  IN  ACTIVITIES  OR USE OF FACILITIES OF THE AGENCY.  Such
agencies shall also be responsible for providing  assistance  to  appli-
cants in completing voter registration forms, receiving and transmitting
the completed application form from all applicants who wish to have such
form  transmitted to the appropriate board of elections. The state board
of elections shall, together with representatives of the  UNITED  STATES
department  of  defense,  develop and implement procedures for including
recruitment offices of the armed forces of the United  States  as  voter
registration offices when such offices are so designated by federal law.
The  state  board  OF  ELECTIONS  shall  also make request of the United
States [Immigration and Naturalization Service]  CITIZENSHIP  AND  IMMI-
GRATION  SERVICES  to include applications for registration by mail with
any materials which are given to new citizens.  All institutions of  the
state university of New York and the city university of New York, shall,
at  the  beginning of the school year, and again in January of a year in
which the president of the United States is to be  elected,  provide  an
application for VOTER registration to each student in each such institu-
tion.    The state board of elections may, by regulation, grant a waiver
from any or all of the requirements of this section  to  any  office  or
program  of an agency, if it determines that it is not feasible for such
office or program to administer such requirement.
  S 2. Subdivision 4 of section 5-211 of the election law, as  added  by
chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
  4.  Each participating agency shall provide to each applicant who does
not decline to register to vote  the  same  degree  of  assistance  with
regard  to  the  completion  of  the registration application form as is
provided by the agency with regard to the completion  of  its  own  form
unless  the  applicant  refuses such assistance. ALL INSTITUTIONS OF THE
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AND  ALL  DEGREE-GRANTING  INSTITUTIONS  OF
HIGHER  EDUCATION DESCRIBED IN ARTICLES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN, ONE HUNDRED
TWENTY-ONE, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE, ONE  HUNDRED  TWENTY-SIX  AND  ONE
HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE OF TITLE VII OF THE EDUCATION LAW WHICH HAVE ELECTED
TO  BE  PARTICIPATING AGENCIES PURSUANT TO THE OPENING PARAGRAPH OF THIS
SECTION SHALL ALSO PROVIDE SUCH LEVEL OF ASSISTANCE TO EACH  PERSON  WHO
WISHES TO COMPLETE AN APPLICATION FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT.
  S  3.  The  opening paragraph of subdivision 8 of section 5-211 of the
election law, as amended by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is  amended
to read as follows:
  Each  participating  agency, department, division or office that makes
available voter registration forms OR ABSENTEE BALLOT  APPLICATIONS,  OR
BOTH, pursuant to this section shall offer with each application for the
services or assistance, PARTICIPATION IN ACTIVITIES OR USE OF FACILITIES
of  such  agency, department, division or office and with each recertif-

S. 3879                             3

ication, renewal or change of address form relating to such  service  or
assistance,  PARTICIPATION  IN ACTIVITIES OR USE OF FACILITIES, a regis-
tration form together  with  instructions  relating  to  eligibility  to
register  and  for  completing  the  form  except that forms used by the
department of [social services] FAMILY ASSISTANCE for the initial appli-
cation for services, renewal or recertification for services and  change
of  address  relating  to  such  services shall physically incorporate a
voter registration application in  a  fashion  that  permits  the  voter
registration  portion  of  the agency form to be detached therefrom. ALL
INSTITUTIONS OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AND ALL DEGREE-GRANTING
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER  EDUCATION  DESCRIBED  IN  ARTICLES  ONE  HUNDRED
FIFTEEN,  ONE  HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE, ONE HUNDRED
TWENTY-SIX AND ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE OF TITLE VII OF THE EDUCATION LAW
WHICH HAVE ELECTED TO BE PARTICIPATING AGENCIES PURSUANT TO THE  OPENING
PARAGRAPH OF THIS SECTION SHALL ALSO OFFER EACH SUCH APPLICANT AN APPLI-
CATION FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT. Such voter registration application shall
be  designed  so  as  to ensure the confidentiality of the source of the
application. Included on each  participating  agency's  application  for
services or assistance or on a separate form shall be:
  S 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
it  shall have become a law, provided however, that effective immediate-
ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any  rules  or  regulations
necessary  for  the implementation of this act on its effective date are
authorized and directed to be made  and  completed  on  or  before  such
effective date.