New York S 1128: Relates to voter registration form distribution and assistance

Bill Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1128--A
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 11, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. BENJAMIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the  Committee  on  Elections  --  reported
          favorably  from  said  committee  and  committed  to  the Committee on
          Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended,  ordered  reprinted  as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to voter registration form
          distribution and assistance
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The opening paragraph of section 5-211 of the election law,
     2  as amended by section 1 of part AA of chapter 56 of the laws of 2019, is
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    Each agency designated as a participating agency under the  provisions
     5  of this section shall implement and administer a program of distribution
     6  of  voter registration forms pursuant to the provisions of this section.
     7  The following offices which provide  public  assistance  and/or  provide
     8  state funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons
     9  with  disabilities are hereby designated as voter registration agencies:
    10  designated as the state agencies which provide public assistance are the
    11  office of children and family services,  the  office  of  temporary  and
    12  disability  assistance  and the department of health. Also designated as
    13  public assistance agencies are all agencies  of  local  government  that
    14  provide  such  assistance.  Designated  as  state  agencies that provide
    15  programs primarily engaged in providing services to people with disabil-
    16  ities are the department of labor, office for  the  aging,  division  of
    17  veterans'  services,  office  of mental health, office of vocational and
    18  educational services for individuals with  disabilities,  commission  on
    19  quality of care for the mentally disabled, office [of mental retardation
    20  ]    developmental  disabilities, commission for theandfor  people  with
    21  blind, office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, the office  of
    22  the  advocate for the disabled and all offices which administer programs
         EXPLANATION--Matter in  (underscored) is new; matter in bracketsitalics
                              [] is old law to be omitted. 
                                                                   LBD01179-05-9

        S. 1128--A                          2
     1  established or funded by such agencies. Additional [] stateparticipating
     2  agencies designated as voter registration offices are the department  of
     3  state  and  the []  of  workers' compensationdivisiondistrict officesthe
     4  . Such agencies shall be required to offer voter registration formsboard
     5  to  persons  upon initial application for services, renewal or recertif-
     6  ication for services  and    change  of  address  relating  to  suchupon
     7  services.  Such agencies shall also be responsible for providing assist-
     8  ance to applicants in completing voter registration forms, receiving and
     9  transmitting the completed application form from all applicants who wish
    10  to have such form transmitted to the appropriate board of elections. The
    11  state board of elections shall, together  with  representatives  of  the
    12    department  of defense, develop and implement proceduresUnited  States
    13  for including recruitment offices of the  armed  forces  of  the  United
    14  States as voter registration offices when such offices are so designated
    15  by  federal law. The state board  shall also make request ofof elections
    16  the United States []  Immigration and Naturalization  ServiceCitizenship
    17    to  include applications for registration byand  Immigration  Services
    18  mail with any materials which are given to  new  citizens.  [All  insti-
    19  tutions  of  the state university of New York and the city university of
    20  New York, shall, at the beginning of the school year, and again in Janu-
    21  ary of a year in which the president of  the  United  States  is  to  be
    22  elected, provide an application for registration to each student in each
    23  such institution. The state board of elections may, by regulation, grant
    24  a  waiver  from  any  or  all of the requirements of this section to any
    25  office or program of an agency, if it determines that it is not feasible
    26  ]for such o