S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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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.