Bill Text: NY A03649 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Permits the state board of elections to join certain multistate voter list maintenance organizations and provide such organizations with certain voter information; requires the state to join a multistate voter list maintenance organization on or before July 31, 2026.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-3)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-03 - print number 3649a [A03649 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A03649-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         3649--A

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 29, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. TAYLOR, ALVAREZ, McDONALD, ROMERO, McDONOUGH,
          K. BROWN, MANKTELOW -- read once and  referred  to  the  Committee  on
          Election  Law -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted
          as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the election law and the vehicle  and  traffic  law,  in
          relation to joining multistate voter list maintenance organizations

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Legislative findings and intent.  As the official record of
     2  all eligible voters in a state, a state's voter registration  rolls  are
     3  the  foundation of free, fair, and accurate elections. Illegal voting is
     4  exceedingly rare but maintaining accurate voter rolls reduces the oppor-
     5  tunity for such behavior and  it  helps  build  confidence  in  election
     6  outcomes.  However,  keeping  voter  rolls  up  to  date  is a challenge
     7  because, every day, voters move or die. Voters do not always remember to
     8  update their registration when they move. These challenges are especial-
     9  ly acute in states with large and  highly  mobile  populations.  Partic-
    10  ipation  in a multistate voter list maintenance organization can improve
    11  the accuracy of New York's voter registration rolls. A multistate  voter
    12  list  maintenance  organization  is a coordinating entity between states
    13  that aids them in identifying voters who may no longer  be  eligible  to
    14  vote,  who have moved, or who have died. A voter list maintenance organ-
    15  ization may also offer  other  information  useful  to  improving  voter
    16  registration or enhancing the integrity of election administration.
    17    § 2. Article 5 of the election law is amended by adding a new title 10
    18  to read as follows:
    19                                   TITLE X
    20   MULTISTATE VOTER LIST MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP AUTHORIZATION
    21  Section 5-1000. Joining  a  multistate  voter list maintenance organiza-
    22                    tion.
    23          5-1001. Designating a member representative.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03193-04-5
        A. 3649--A                          2

     1          5-1002. Authorization to share registration records with  multi-
     2                    state voter list maintenance organization.
     3          5-1003. Use  of information from a multistate voter list mainte-
     4                    nance organization.
     5          5-1004. Withdrawal from  a  multistate  voter  list  maintenance
     6                    organization.
     7    §  5-1000.  Joining  a multistate voter list maintenance organization.
     8  The state board of elections shall join the state as a member in one  or
     9  more  multistate voter list maintenance organizations including, but not
    10  limited to,  the  electronic  registration  information  center  or  its
    11  successor.  The  state board of elections shall expend funds for member-
    12  ship fees, dues and other expenses related to such membership.
    13    § 5-1001. Designating a member  representative.  The  state  board  of
    14  elections  shall  designate  the chief election official of the state of
    15  New York as the representative to the board of directors of  any  multi-
    16  state  voter list maintenance organization that the state is a member of
    17  including, but not limited to, the electronic  registration  information
    18  center or its successor.
    19    §  5-1002. Authorization to share registration records with multistate
    20  voter list maintenance  organization.  1.    Notwithstanding  any  other
    21  provision  of  law,  the  member representative designated under section
    22  5-1001 of this title may provide to the multistate  voter  list  mainte-
    23  nance  organization  that they are a member of the following information
    24  from the statewide voter registration list as defined in  section  5-614
    25  of this article:
    26    (a) all name fields;
    27    (b) all address fields;
    28    (c) date of birth;
    29    (d) state voter identification number;
    30    (e) voter's last registration date;
    31    (f) activity dates as defined by the multistate voter list maintenance
    32  organization; and
    33    (g) voter history.
    34    2.  The  member representative designated under section 5-1001 of this
    35  title may also provide any information  to  the  multistate  voter  list
    36  maintenance organization provided to such member representative from the
    37  department  of motor vehicles pursuant to section two hundred nineteen-a
    38  of the vehicle and traffic law.
    39    3. The state board of elections shall not provide any  information  on
    40  any  person  in the confidential voter program pursuant to section 5-508
    41  of this article for any purpose under this title. Nothing in this  title
    42  shall  be  construed  to  require  the  department  of motor vehicles to
    43  provide any information on any person in such program.
    44    4. The state board of elections is authorized to promulgate  any  rule
    45  or regulation necessary to effectuate the provisions of this title.
    46    §  5-1003. Use of information from a multistate voter list maintenance
    47  organization. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to  the  contrary,
    48  the  state  board  of  elections shall use any information provided by a
    49  multistate voter list maintenance organization that the state has joined
    50  pursuant to section 5-1001 of this title, including but not limited  to,
    51  the  use  of  such  information in list maintenance activities performed
    52  pursuant to section 5-614 of this article.
    53    2. To avoid inadvertent or accidental registration of persons ineligi-
    54  ble to register to vote, any mailing to  any  potentially  eligible  but
    55  unregistered person shall state the voter registration criteria, includ-
    56  ing but not limited to, any citizenship requirements.
        A. 3649--A                          3

     1    §  5-1004.  Withdrawal from a multistate voter list maintenance organ-
     2  ization. Withdrawal of the state from a multistate  voter  list  mainte-
     3  nance  organization shall require an affirmative vote of the state board
     4  of elections commissioners pursuant to subdivision four of section 3-100
     5  of this chapter.
     6    §  3.  The  vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
     7  219-a to read as follows:
     8    § 219-a. State membership  in  a  multistate  voter  list  maintenance
     9  organization.  1.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of law to the
    10  contrary, the commissioner is  authorized  to  provide  to  the  state's
    11  representative  to  a  multistate  voter  list maintenance organization,
    12  designated under section 5-1001  of  the  election  law,  the  following
    13  information:  (a)  all  name  fields; (b) all address fields; (c) DMV ID
    14  number; (d) last four digits of the  DMV  ID  holder's  social  security
    15  number;  (e) date of birth; (f) current record status; (g) phone number;
    16  and (h) email address, provided that the conditions and terms of member-
    17  ship are consistent with the provisions of this chapter and title ten of
    18  article five of the election law pertaining to such membership or recip-
    19  rocal recognition of vehicle registrations.
    20    2. The commissioner shall not knowingly provide any information pursu-
    21  ant to this section of persons who are not citizens.
    22    § 4. New York state shall join a  multistate  voter  list  maintenance
    23  organization  promptly  after  the  effective date of this act and shall
    24  complete its registration  with  a  multistate  voter  list  maintenance
    25  organization on or before July 31, 2026.
    26    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.