S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1677
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 16, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Election Law
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  election law, in relation to voter registration
   transfers
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  Subdivisions 1, 4, and 8 of section 5-208 of the election
 law, subdivisions 1 and 8 as amended by chapter 200 of the laws of 1996,
 subdivision 4 as added by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994,  are  amended
 and a new subdivision 9 is added to read as follows:
   1.  The board of elections shall transfer the registration and enroll-
 ment of any voter APPEARING ON A STATEWIDE VOTER LIST PURSUANT TO SUBDI-
 VISION ONE OF SECTION 5-614 OF THIS  ARTICLE  for  whom  it  receives  a
 notice  of  change  of  address to another address in the same county or
 city OR ADJACENT COUNTY OR CITY, or for any voter who casts a ballot  in
 an  affidavit ballot envelope which sets forth such a new address.  Such
 notices shall include, but not be limited to, notices received from  any
 state agency which conducts a voter registration program pursuant to the
 provisions of sections 5-211 and 5-212 of this title, that the voter has
 notified  such  agency of a change of address in the same city or county
 unless the voter has indicated that such change of address  is  not  for
 voter  registration  purposes,  notices  of  change  of address from the
 United States Postal Service through  the  National  Change  of  Address
 System,  any  notices of a forwarding address on mail sent to a voter by
 the board of elections and returned by the postal service,  national  or
 state  voter  registration  forms,  confirmation mailing response cards,
 United States Postal Service notices  to  correspondents  of  change  of
 address,  applications  for registration from persons already registered
 in such county or city OR ADJACENT COUNTY OR CITY, or any other  notices
 to correspondents sent to the board of elections by such voters.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05252-01-9
              

 A. 1677                             2
 
   4.  If  such  application for registration from a voter already regis-
 tered in such county or city OR ADJACENT COUNTY OR CITY also reflects  a
 change  of  enrollment, the board of elections shall treat such applica-
 tion as an application for change  of  enrollment  pursuant  to  section
 5-304 of this article.
   8.  If  the  board of elections receives notice of a change of address
 within such city or county OR ADJACENT CITY  OR  COUNTY  from,  or  with
 respect  to, a person who it determines is not registered in such county
 or city, it shall forthwith send such person a notice to that effect  in
 a  form  approved by the state board of elections at the new address set
 forth in such notice of change of address, together with a voter  regis-
 tration form.
   9. THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL PROMULGATE REGULATIONS AS TO THE
 PROCEDURES FOR TRANSFERRING A VOTER FROM ONE COUNTY OR CITY TO ANOTHER.
   §  2.  Subparagraph  (ii) of paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of section
 8-302 of the election law, as amended by chapter  164  of  the  laws  of
 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   (ii) He or she may swear to and subscribe an affidavit stating that he
 or  she  has  duly  registered  to  vote,  the  address in such election
 district from which he or she registered, that he or she remains a  duly
 qualified  voter in such election district, that his or her registration
 poll record appears to be lost or misplaced or  that  his  or  her  name
 and/or  his  or  her  signature  was omitted from the computer generated
 registration list or that he or she has moved within the county or  city
 OR  ADJACENT COUNTY OR CITY since he or she last registered, the address
 from which he or she was previously registered and the address at  which
 he  or  she  currently  resides, and at a primary election, the party in
 which he or she is enrolled. The inspectors of election shall offer such
 an affidavit to each such voter  whose  residence  address  is  in  such
 election district.  Each such affidavit shall be in a form prescribed by
 the  state  board  of  elections, shall be printed on an envelope of the
 size and quality used for an absentee ballot envelope, and shall contain
 an acknowledgment that the affiant understands that any false  statement
 made   therein  is  perjury  punishable  according  to  law.  Such  form
 prescribed by the state board of  elections  shall  request  information
 required  to  register such voter should the county board determine that
 such voter is not registered and  shall  constitute  an  application  to
 register  to  vote. The voter's name and the entries required shall then
 be entered without delay and  without  further  inquiry  in  the  fourth
 section  of  the challenge report or in the place provided at the end of
 the computer generated registration list, with  the  notation  that  the
 voter  has  executed  the  affidavit hereinabove prescribed, or, if such
 person's name appears on the computer generated registration  list,  the
 board of elections may provide a place to make such entry next to his or
 her  name  on such list.  The voter shall then, without further inquiry,
 be permitted to vote an affidavit ballot provided for by  this  chapter.
 Such  ballot shall thereupon be placed in the envelope containing his or
 her affidavit, and the envelope sealed and  returned  to  the  board  of
 elections  in the manner provided by this chapter for protested official
 ballots, including a statement of the number of such ballots.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.