S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1128
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 11, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. BENJAMIN -- 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  the  state
   and  city universities of New York as participating agencies for voter
   registration form distribution and assistance,  and  permitting  inde-
   pendent institutions of higher education to do the same upon request
 
   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 265 of the laws of 2013, 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
 office  of  children  and  family  services, the office of temporary and
 disability assistance, THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  FAMILY  ASSISTANCE  and  the
 department  of health. Also designated as public assistance agencies are
 all agencies of local government that provide  such  assistance.  Desig-
 nated  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  indi-
 viduals with disabilities, commission on quality of care for the mental-
 ly  disabled,  office  of mental retardation and developmental disabili-
 ties, commission for the blind, 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. Addi-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD01179-02-9

 S. 1128                             2
 
 tional [state] PARTICIPATING agencies designated as  voter  registration
 offices  are  the  department  of  state  [and], the [division] DISTRICT
 OFFICES of THE workers' compensation BOARD, AND ALL INSTITUTIONS OF  THE
 STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEW YORK AND THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK; AND
 ANY DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION DESCRIBED  IN  ARTI-
 CLES  ONE  HUNDRED  FIFTEEN, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-
 THREE, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-SIX AND ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE OF  TITLE  VII
 OF THE EDUCATION LAW WHICH ELECTS TO BE A PARTICIPATING AGENCY BY FILING
 WITH  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF ELECTIONS A NOTICE IN WHICH IT MAKES SUCH AN
 ELECTION.  Such agencies shall be required to offer  voter  registration
 forms  to  persons  upon  initial  application for services, FOR PARTIC-
 IPATION IN ACTIVITIES OR FOR USE OF  FACILITIES,  AND  UPON  renewal  or
 recertification  for  services,  PARTICIPATION  IN  ACTIVITIES OR USE OF
 FACILITIES, and UPON  change  of  address  relating  to  such  services,
 PARTICIPATION  IN ACTIVITIES OR USE OF FACILITIES OF THE AGENCIES.  Such
 agencies shall also be responsible for providing  assistance  to  appli-
 cants 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  UNITED  STATES
 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  OF  ELECTIONS  shall  also make request of the United
 States [Immigration and Naturalization Service]  CITIZENSHIP  AND  IMMI-
 GRATION  SERVICES  to include applications for registration by mail with
 any materials which are given to new citizens. All institutions  of  the
 state university 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
 application  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.
   § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 5-211 of the election law, as  added  by
 chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  Each participating agency shall provide to each applicant who does
 not decline to register to vote  the  same  degree  of  assistance  with
 regard  to  the  completion  of  the registration application form as is
 provided by the agency with regard to the completion  of  its  own  form
 unless  the  applicant  refuses such assistance. ALL INSTITUTIONS OF THE
 STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AND  ALL  DEGREE-GRANTING  INSTITUTIONS  OF
 HIGHER  EDUCATION DESCRIBED IN ARTICLES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN, ONE HUNDRED
 TWENTY-ONE, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE, ONE  HUNDRED  TWENTY-SIX  AND  ONE
 HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE OF TITLE VII OF THE EDUCATION LAW WHICH HAVE ELECTED
 TO  BE  PARTICIPATING AGENCIES PURSUANT TO THE OPENING PARAGRAPH OF THIS
 SECTION SHALL ALSO PROVIDE SUCH LEVEL OF ASSISTANCE TO EACH  PERSON  WHO
 WISHES TO COMPLETE AN APPLICATION FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT.
   §  3.  The  opening paragraph of subdivision 8 of section 5-211 of the
 election law, as amended by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is  amended
 to read as follows:
   Each  participating  agency, department, division or office that makes
 available voter registration forms OR ABSENTEE BALLOT  APPLICATIONS,  OR
 BOTH, pursuant to this section shall offer with each application for the
 services or assistance, PARTICIPATION IN ACTIVITIES OR USE OF FACILITIES

 S. 1128                             3
 
 of  such  agency, department, division or office and with each recertif-
 ication, renewal or change of address form relating to such  service  or
 assistance,  PARTICIPATION  IN ACTIVITIES OR USE OF FACILITIES, a regis-
 tration  form  together  with  instructions  relating  to eligibility to
 register and for completing the form  except  that  forms  used  by  the
 department of [social services] FAMILY ASSISTANCE for the initial appli-
 cation  for services, renewal or recertification for services and change
 of address relating to such  services  shall  physically  incorporate  a
 voter  registration  application  in  a  fashion  that permits the voter
 registration portion of the agency form to be  detached  therefrom.  ALL
 INSTITUTIONS OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AND ALL DEGREE-GRANTING
 INSTITUTIONS  OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION  DESCRIBED  IN  ARTICLES ONE HUNDRED
 FIFTEEN, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE,  ONE  HUNDRED
 TWENTY-SIX AND ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE OF TITLE VII OF THE EDUCATION LAW
 WHICH  HAVE ELECTED TO BE PARTICIPATING AGENCIES PURSUANT TO THE OPENING
 PARAGRAPH OF THIS SECTION SHALL ALSO OFFER EACH SUCH APPLICANT AN APPLI-
 CATION FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT. Such voter registration application shall
 be designed so as to ensure the confidentiality of  the  source  of  the
 application.  Included  on  each  participating agency's application for
 services or assistance or on a separate form shall be:
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.  Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the  imple-
 mentation  of  this  act on its effective date are authorized to be made
 and completed on or before such effective date.