Senate Bill S9671A

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9671

SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to requiring the board of
elections to notify victims of domestic violence whose registration is
maintained as confidential of the expiration of the confidentiality of
such registration records


 
PURPOSE:

To protect survivors of domestic violence from having their addresses
lose their confidentiality by requiring the BOE to send reminders to
them six months before their protections expire.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one creates a new subdivision 2 in section 5-508 of the election
law requiring the state board of elections to mail a notice to each
survivor of domestic violence at least six months before the confiden-
              

tiality protections of their voter registration expires. Such notice
must include information on the procedure to renew their status.

Section two states the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In order to protect survivors of domestic violence from their abusers,
New York State gives survivors the option to have their voting records
made confidential. When someone has their records made confidential,
that protection lasts for four years and can be renewed with an applica-
tion to the Board of Elections.

However, under current law there is no requirement for the Board of
Elections to notify people that their protections are nearing expira-
tion. As a result, someone's protections can expire without their know-
ledge, potentially allowing their abuser to find their current address.
This bill would remedy this by requiring the state Board of Elections to
notify all survivors of domestic violence who have their records sealed
six months before the protections expire.

This will ensure that people can keep their protections in place and
provide the peace of mind that they will not expire without their know-
ledge.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill,

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.