BILL NUMBER: S4242

SPONSOR: KRUEGER
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act providing for the state board of elections to
undertake a study on the feasibility of permitting voting by mail, tele-
phone and/or the internet and to establish pilot projects relating ther-
eto

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would require that the state board of elections do a study of
the feasibility of voting by mail, telephone and/or over the internet.
It would also empower it to establish pilot programs to evaluate the
feasibility of any of these methods of voting.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 mandates that the state board of elections undertake a study
of the feasibility of voting by mail, telephone and/or over the inter-
net, that such a study may include pilot programs of each method, and
that it report to the legislature and the governor the results of the
              

study along with recommendations.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

One of the primary goals of any representative form of government should
be to have every eligible voter participate. While attaining such a goal
may be a practical impossibility, the legislature must find ways to
increase voter turnout. That is especially true given the serious
decline in turnout over the past four decades in New York State. In the
November 2016 election, New York State ranked 41st in the nation when
only 57.2% of eligible voters went to the polls according to U.S. Census
Bureau statistics. New York's ranking as of 2015 was 46th in the nation.
Since the 1956 election, the percentage of registered voters who cast
ballots has steadily fallen from over 93% to a low of 33.2% in 2014.
While November 2018 election results did show a surge in turnout, these
numbers still lag behind historic high turnouts realized in past
decades. The 2018 election turnout results indicated that almost 50% of
active voters cast ballots in congressional and state legislative races,
as well as the governor's race. However, voter turnout has been as high
as 74% during the 1974 governor's race.

Convenience voting systems offer a wide range of options that signif-
icantly increase voter turnout. In a recent nationwide study conducted
for the League of Women Voters, a majority of non-voters supported
proposals which make voting more convenient. States like Maine, Wiscon-
sin, Alaska, Colorado and Oregon, which are consistently ranked in the
top best voter turnout states, use a variety of convenience voting
systems. Elections are offered by mail, whereby a ballot is sent to
every registered voter. Early voting, either in person or by mail, is
another popular method. With no excuse absentee voting, voters mail in
their ballots and are not burdened with the responsibility of providing
a reason for the need to vote absentee.  Other convenience voting
systems include E-voting. Voters log onto a secure website, which
includes a unique identification number, and allows eligible voters to
cast their vote using a web browser. Voting by phone, primarily designed
for those who cannot get to the poll such as disabled voters, allows
voters to choose a candidate over the phone. Some jurisdictions also
allow voters to fax ballots into designated election offices. New York
State does not maintain any of these convenience provisions in their
election laws.

This bill would require the board of elections to examine the possibil-
ity of using mail, telephone and internet voting. Given the constant
decline in voter participation in the electoral process, the state
should examine these and other methods of increasing voter turnout.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18 S54085 No Same As - died in committee
2015-16 S2739 No Same As - died in committee
2013-14 S53252 Same as A3188 Brennan - died in committee
2011-12 S5424 Same As A 5204 notice of consideration, discharged to
rules
2009-10 S53590 Same As A 6716 Brennan - died in committee
2007-08 S54750 Same As A 7925 Brennan - died in committee

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.