§ 5-211. Agency assisted registration. 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 and the department of health. Also designated as public
assistance agencies are all agencies of local government that provide
such assistance. Designated as state agencies that provide programs
primarily engaged in providing services to people with disabilities are
the department of labor, office for the aging, department of veterans'
services, office of mental health, office of vocational and educational
services for individuals with disabilities, commission on quality of
care for the mentally disabled, office for people with developmental
disabilities, commission for the blind, office of addiction services and
supports, the office of the advocate for the disabled and all offices
which administer programs established or funded by such agencies.
Additional participating agencies designated as voter registration
offices are the department of state and the district offices of the
workers' compensation board. Such agencies shall be required to offer
voter registration forms to persons upon initial application for
services, renewal or recertification for services and upon change of
address relating to such services. Such agencies shall also be
responsible for providing assistance to applicants 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
Citizenship and Immigration Services to include applications for
registration by mail with any materials which are given to new citizens.

1. The state board of elections shall adopt such rules and regulations
as may be necessary to carry out the requirements of this section and
shall prepare and distribute to participating agencies written
instructions as to the implementation of the program and shall be
responsible for establishing training programs for employees of
participating agencies involved in such program. The state board of
elections shall provide a toll free telephone to answer registration
questions.

2. Strict neutrality with respect to a person's party enrollment shall
be maintained and all persons seeking voter registration forms and
information shall be advised that government services are not
conditioned on being registered to vote. No statement shall be made nor
any action taken to discourage the applicant from registering to vote.

3. If a participating agency provides services to a person with a
disability at the person's place of residence, the agency shall offer
the opportunity to complete a voter registration form at such place of
residence.

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.

5. Employees of a voter registration agency who provide voter
registration assistance shall not:

(a) seek to influence an applicant's political preference or party
designation;

(b) display any political preference or party allegiance;

(c) make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose
or effect of which is to discourage the applicant from registering to
vote; or

(d) make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose
or effect of which is to lead the applicant to believe that a decision
to register or not to register has any bearing on the availability of
services or benefits.

6. The state board of elections shall coordinate and monitor the
distribution of voter registration forms by those state agencies,
departments, divisions and offices selected to participate in the
program to maximize the efficient and non partisan distribution of voter
registration information and forms. The board shall also adopt such
rules and regulations as may be necessary to require county boards and
participating agencies to provide the state board with such information
and data as the board deems necessary to assess compliance with this
section and to compile such statistics as may be required by the federal
elections commission.

7. Each participating agency, department, division and office that
makes available voter registration forms shall prominently display
promotional materials designed and approved by the state board of
elections, informing the public of the existence of voter registration
services.

8. Each participating agency, department, division or office that
makes available voter registration forms pursuant to this section shall
offer with each application for the services or assistance of such
agency, department, division or office and with each recertification,
renewal or change of address form relating to such service or
assistance, a registration form together with instructions relating to
eligibility to register and for completing the form except that forms
used by the department of social services for the initial application
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. 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:

(a) the question, "If you are not registered to vote where you live
now, would you like to apply to register here today?"

(b) The statement, "applying to register or declining to register to
vote will not affect the amount of assistance that you will be provided
by this agency."

(c) boxes for the applicant to check to indicate whether the applicant
would like to register or decline to register to vote.

(d) the statement in prominent type, "IF YOU DO NOT CHECK EITHER BOX,
YOU WILL BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE DECIDED NOT TO REGISTER TO VOTE AT THIS
TIME."

(e) the statement, "If you would like help in filling out the voter
registration application form, we will help you. The decision whether to
seek or accept help is yours. You may fill out the application form in
private."

(f) the statement, "If you believe that someone has interfered with
your right to register or decline to register to vote, your right to
privacy in deciding whether to register or in applying to register to
vote, or your right to choose your own political party or other
political preference, you may file a complaint with the state board of
elections (address and toll free telephone number)."

(g) a toll free number at the state board of elections that can be
called for answers to registration questions.

9. Disclosure of voter registration information, including a
declination to register, by a participating agency, its agents or
employees, for other than voter registration purposes, shall be deemed
an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant to the provisions
of subdivision two of section eighty-nine of the public officers law and
shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

10. The form containing the declination to register to vote shall be
retained by the recipient agency for the same period of time as such
agency retains the accompanying application for services or for such
shorter period of time as may be approved by the state board of
elections.

11. The participating agency shall transmit the completed applications
for registration and change of address forms to the appropriate board of
elections not later than ten days after receipt except that all such
completed applications and forms received by the agency after the
twentieth day prior to an election and by the twelfth day before such
election shall be transmitted in such manner and at such time as to
assure their receipt by such board of elections as soon as practicable
and not later than the tenth day before such election.

12. Completed application forms, when received by a participating
agency not later than the twelfth day before the next ensuing primary,
general or special election and transmitted by such agency to the
appropriate board of elections so that they are received by such board
not later than the tenth day before such election shall entitle the
applicant to vote in such election provided the board determines that
the applicant is otherwise qualified.

13. The state board of elections shall provide application forms for
use pursuant to this section except that any agency which uses a form
other than such registration form shall be responsible for providing
such form. Forms which vary in design and or content from the form
approved by the state board of elections may only be used with the
approval of such board.

14. Applications shall be processed by the board of elections in the
manner prescribed by section 5-210 of this title or, if the applicant is
already registered to vote from another address in the county or city,
in the manner prescribed by section 5-208 of this title. The board shall
send the appropriate notice of approval or rejection as required by
either subdivision nine of such section 5-210 or subdivision five of
such section 5-208.

15. The head of each participating agency shall take all actions which
are necessary and proper for the implementation of this section. Each
agency head shall designate one person within the agency as the agency
voter registration coordinator who will, under the direction of the
state board of elections, be responsible for the voter registration
program in such agency.

16. The state board shall develop and distribute public information
and promotional materials relating to the purposes and implementation of
this program.

17. Each agency designated as a participating agency under this
section shall conduct a study and prepare a report to determine the
feasibility, practicality and cost-effectiveness of designing their
agency intake forms to serve also as voter registration forms that
comply with state and federal law. Such study and report shall be
completed by December 1, 1996. Copies of such reports shall be provided
to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of
the assembly and the state board of elections. After submission of the
report, participating agencies that determine that it is feasible,
practical and cost-effective to have such forms also serve as voter
registration forms shall do so upon the approval of the state board of
elections. For each agency that determines it is feasible, practical and
cost effective to use agency intake forms that serve also as voter
registration forms, the state board of elections shall approve or
disapprove such use within six months of the submission of the report by
the agency.

18. (a) (i) On or before January first, two thousand twenty, all
institutions of the state university of New York and the city university
of New York shall create and make available to all students a webpage
for voter education on each such institution's website, containing a
link to an application for voter registration, a link to an application
for an early mail ballot, contact information for the county board of
elections, and the name and contact information for the administrator
responsible for voter registration assistance on each campus.

(ii) Each such institution 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 voter registration
and an application for an early mail ballot to each student in each such
institution. Each institution shall be considered in compliance with the
requirements of this subparagraph for each student to whom the
institution electronically transmits a message containing the link to
the webpage for voter education, the link to an application for voter
registration and the link to an application for an early mail ballot, if
such information is in an electronic message devoted exclusively to
voter registration.

(iii) Each such institution shall provide the same degree of
assistance as required of participating agencies.

(b) The state university of New York and the city university of New
York, on behalf of each institution within its system, shall on or
before June first, two thousand twenty, and each subsequent year, submit
a report disaggregated according to each institution to the state board
of elections that includes:

(i) the efforts of the institution to register voters in the preceding
calendar year;

(ii) a date-stamped screen shot of the webpage for voter education
that contains the required information under paragraph (a) of this
subdivision;

(iii) the number of students who were registered for course work in
the preceding twelve months at such institution and the number of clicks
on the links to online voter registration and early mail ballot
applications; and

(iv) any other efforts or recommendations the institution plans to
implement to improve access to voter registration and early mail ballot
voting for students at the institution.

(c) The state board of elections shall make the reports provided
pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision publicly available on its
website.