Senate Bill S1970

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

                                  1970

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 14, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sen. GIANARIS -- 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:

  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]  OFFICE  OF  TEMPORARY AND DISABILITY
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 devel-
opmental disabilities, commission  for  the  blind  and  visually  hand-
icapped,  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. Additional state agen-
cies designated as voter registration  offices  are  the  department  of

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD04807-01-1
              

S. 1970                             2

state  and the division of workers' compensation. Such agencies shall be
required to offer voter  registration  forms  to  persons  upon  initial
application  for  services,  renewal or recertification for services and
change of address relating to such services. Such agencies shall also be
responsible  for  providing assistance to applicants 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 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 shall also
make request of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service
to include applications for registration  by  mail  with  any  materials
which  are given to new citizens.  All institutions of the state univer-
sity 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 applica-
tion for registration to each student in each  such  institution.    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.  ALSO DESIGNATED AS  PARTICIPAT-
ING  AGENCIES ARE ALL PUBLIC LIBRARIES, WHICH SHALL BE REQUIRED TO OFFER
VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS TO PERSONS EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER  UPON
INITIAL APPLICATION FOR A LIBRARY CARD. ALSO DESIGNATED AS PARTICIPATING
AGENCIES  ARE  ALL LOCAL HOUSING AUTHORITIES, WHICH SHALL BE REQUIRED TO
OFFER VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS TO PERSONS UPON INITIAL  APPLICATION  FOR
SERVICES OR RECERTIFICATION FOR SERVICES. ALSO DESIGNATED AS PARTICIPAT-
ING  AGENCIES  ARE  ALL  PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS, WHICH SHALL BE REQUIRED TO
OFFER VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS TO ALL SENIORS UPON THEIR GRADUATION.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
it shall have become a law; provided that the state board  of  elections
is authorized to promulgate any rules necessary to implement this act on
or before its effective date.