NY State Senate Bill 2017-S8447

Senate Bill S8447

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Relates to the registration status of voters

download bill text pdf

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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 08, 2018	referred to elections

2017-S8447 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§17-106, 5-400 & 5-213, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: S7393
2019-2020: S1780
2021-2022: S3072
2023-2024: S4312

2017-S8447 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the registration status of voters; establishes additional requirements for the cancellation of a voter's registration and allows voters who have an inactive status to have their registration returned to active status and to have their vote counted for the election in which they vote.

2017-S8447 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8447

SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the election law, in relation to the
registration status of voters

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This purpose of this bill is to prevent the disenfranchisement of voters
through hurdles such as registration cancellation.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Makes misconduct of an election official a felony. It also
establishes the conditions under which an individual is allowed to be
unregistered by the board of election under the new election law.

Section 2. Indicates that their shall be an inactive poll ledger at
every county.

Section 3. Indicates that if an inactive voter cast an affidavit ballot

that met all the requirements than it shall restore voter registration
and the ballot shall count.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

On Tuesday, April 19, thousands of New Yorkers cried foul about how the
city was running the state's most consequential presidential primary
elections in decades. Polling sites opened late. Ballot scanners failed.
About 125,000 Democratic voters were purged from the Brooklyn rolls
while others found their party affiliation had inexplicably changed.

Under current policies voters who chose not to vote get penalize by
being characterized as inactive. Their inactive status currently
disqualifies them from voting if they do not re-register. This law would
remove this unnecessary step by creating an inactive poll ledger that
would serve as the list for all voters whose vote could be counted
through an affidavit ballot. This law would also make it a felony for
voter registration to be cancelled. This law would allow us to hold our
election officials accountable for maintaining government integrity.

In the previous New York State primary, many voters felt disenfranchised
and left out of the political process. Voting is particularly hard to do
in New York where we have laws that add unnecessary steps to the process
of become an eligible voter. This law would give the voters back the
power they deserve by creating a mechanism through which to have same
day Affidavit votes facilitate voter registration. This would open up
participation to many voters by making a statement that your vote
matters and will be counted.  Fair elections are a fundamental principle
of democracy, if this type of violation occurred in a foreign nation the
United States leaders would call for United Nation monitors to be
assigned to future elections. It is our duty as elected officials to
hold ourselves to the same, if not, higher standard than we do our
colleagues overseas.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2016: A9952 - Referred to election law

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2017-S8447 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8447
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 8, 2018
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- 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 the registration status
   of voters
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Section 17-106 of the election law, as amended by chapter 9
 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
   § 17-106. Misconduct of election officers. Any  election  officer  who
 wilfully  refuses  to  accord  to  any duly accredited watcher or to any
 voter or candidate any right given him by this  chapter,  INCLUDING  THE
 CANCELLATION  OF A VOTER'S REGISTRATION IN VIOLATION OF SECTION 5-400 OF
 THIS CHAPTER OR THE REFUSAL TO ALLOW AN INDIVIDUAL TO  VOTE  DUE  TO  AN
 INACTIVE  STATUS  IN  VIOLATION OF SECTION 5-213 OF THIS CHAPTER, or who
 wilfully violates any provision of the  election  law  relative  to  the
 registration of electors or to the taking, recording, counting, canvass-
 ing,  tallying  or  certifying  of  votes,  or  who wilfully neglects or
 refuses to perform any duty imposed on him by law, or is guilty  of  any
 fraud  in  the execution of the duties of his office, or connives in any
 electoral fraud, or knowingly permits any such fraud to be practiced, is
 guilty of a felony.
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 5-400 of the election law, as amended by
 chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
   1. A voter's registration[, including the registration of a  voter  in
 inactive  status,]  shall  be cancelled if[,]: (A) since the time of his
 last registration, he:
   [(a)] (I) Moved his residence outside the city or county in  which  he
 is registered[.];
   [(b)]  (II)  Was  convicted  of a felony disqualifying him from voting
 pursuant to the provisions of section 5-106 of this article[.];
   [(c)] (III) Has been adjudicated an incompetent[.];
   [(d)] (IV) Refused to take a challenge oath[.];
   [(e)] (V) Has died[.];
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD07371-01-7

 S. 8447                             2
 
   [(f) Did not vote in any election conducted by the board of  elections
 during  the  period  ending  with  the  second general election at which
 candidates for federal office are on  the  ballot  after  his  name  was
 placed  in  inactive status and for whom the board of elections did not,
 during  such period, in any other way, receive any information that such
 voter still resides in the same county or city.
   (g)] (VI) Personally requested to have his name removed from the  list
 of registered voters[.];
   [(h)]  (VII)  For  any other reason, is no longer qualified to vote as
 provided in this chapter[.]; AND
   (B) THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS VERIFIES  THAT  ONE  OF  THE  CIRCUMSTANCES
 PROVIDED FOR IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION HAS OCCURRED.
   §  3.  Subdivisions  2  and 3 of section 5-213 of the election law, as
 amended by chapter 200 of the laws of  1996,  are  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   2.  The  registration poll records of all such voters shall be removed
 from the poll ledgers and [maintained at] COMPILED BY the offices of the
 board of elections [in a file arranged alphabetically by] AND PLACED  IN
 AN  INACTIVE  POLL  LEDGER  TO  BE DISTRIBUTED TO EACH election district
 WITHIN A COUNTY.   If such board uses  computer  generated  registration
 lists,  the  names  of  such voters shall not be placed on such lists at
 subsequent  elections  other  than  lists  prepared  pursuant   to   the
 provisions  of  section  5-612  of  this article but shall be [kept as a
 computer record at the offices of such board] COMPILED BY THE OFFICES OF
 THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND PLACED IN  AN  INACTIVE  POLL  LEDGER  TO  BE
 DISTRIBUTED TO EACH ELECTION DISTRICT WITHIN A COUNTY.
   3.  The  board of elections shall restore the registration of any such
 voter to active status if such voter notifies  the  board  of  elections
 that he resides at the address from which he is registered, or the board
 finds  that  such  voter  has validly signed a designating or nominating
 petition which states that he resides at such address, or if such  voter
 casts  a ballot in an affidavit envelope which states that he resides at
 such address, or if the board receives notice that such voter has  voted
 in  an  election  conducted with registration lists prepared pursuant to
 the provisions of section 5-612 of this article.  IF SUCH VOTER CASTS  A
 BALLOT IN AN AFFIDAVIT ENVELOPE AND SUCH BALLOT MEETS ALL OTHER REQUIRE-
 MENTS  OF  THIS  CHAPTER,  SUCH VOTER'S NAME SHALL BE RESTORED TO ACTIVE
 STATUS FOR SUCH ELECTION AND  SUCH  BALLOT  SHALL  BE  COUNTED  FOR  THE
 ELECTION  IN  WHICH IT WAS CAST. If any such notification or information
 is received twenty days or more before a  primary,  special  or  general
 election,  the  voter's  name must be restored to active status for such
 election.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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