BILL NUMBER: S6909

SPONSOR: JACOBS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to requirements for first
time voters

 
PURPOSE::

To amend the election law, in relation to requirements for first time
voters.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::

Section 1 amends Election Law by adding section 8-303-a, which outlines
the specific documents and procedure for verification of citizenship.

Section 2 sets the effective date.

 
              

JUSTIFICATION::

New York State has invested significant resources over the last several
years to make it more convenient for those transacting business at their
local Department of Motor Vehicles to register to vote.  Recently, the
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles made an other significant
investment and installed computer tablets at all DMV customer stations
to make it very easy for customers to register to vote with only a few
quick prompts on the tablets. However, those investments meant to expe-
dite voter registration at DMV's never contemplated that New York would
provide driver licenses to undocumented immigrants who are not legal US
citizens. The Driver's License Access and Privacy Act (Chapter 37 of
2019), often referred to as the "Green Light Law" will enable non-citiz-
ens to register to vote at DMV offices and will unfortunately make New
York elections more vulnerable to voter fraud.

This has been the case with states that have allowed undocumented immi-
grants to obtain drivers licenses. According to a February NPR article,
California witnessed an increase in approximately 1,500 non-citizens
becoming registered to vote. California Secretary of State, Alex Padilla
said such "mistakes from the DMV are absolutely unacceptable." Secretary
Padilla also expressed concern that these mistakes risk "jeopardizing
confidence in the electoral process." According to the Center for
Election Innovation and Research, there were 82 possible fraudulent
votes cast in Ohio in 2016 and in 2016, nineteen (19) non-citizens were
charged with having voted illegally in North Carolina.

One of the primary reasons for the number of non-citizens becoming
registered to vote is because of the ease of voter registration at state
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices. Pennsylvania dealt with
similar concerns and changed their state DMV procedures to require that
individuals be asked if they are United States citizens.  If an individ-
ual answers "no" to this question, he or she is not asked to register to
vote and is not provided with voter registration paperwork. Yet, New
York has taken no action to ensure that those living in our state ille-
gally will not be enabled, or even be encouraged to register to vote
when they apply for a New York State Driver License.


Instead of limiting the availability at the DMV for voter registration,
this bill would mandate that the first time an individual votes, he or
she must provide proof of citizenship.  Requiring that an individual
provide documentation of US citizenship, will serve as a safeguard
against non-citizens voting and skewing the results of our elections.

It is not uncommon for elections to be decided by a small margin.  Thus,
we must ensure non-citizens are not voting and influencing, perhaps
deciding the results of our elections. In addition, this proof of citi-
zenship requirement would apply solely to those that are not on record
as having voted previously. This legislation will not only preserve the
sanctity of our elections, but will also prevent non-citizens who may
think they are eligible to vote from voting illegally.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::

To Be Determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE::

This act shall take effect immediately.