Bill Text: NY A05534 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Provides for the inclusion, at a voter's option, of an e-mail address in the voter registration application and record, whereupon notices and other communication required to be sent to the voter by the state board of elections shall be sent by e-mail in addition to postal mail; provides that county boards of elections and the board of elections of the city of New York shall have the option of sending required notices and communications by e-mail in addition to postal mail to certain voters.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-5)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-06-09 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [A05534 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-A05534-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5534--A 2015-2016 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 27, 2015 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GALEF, DINOWITZ, ARROYO, JAFFEE, KAVANAGH, KOLB, GIGLIO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CAHILL, COLTON, DUPREY, FINCH, GOTTFRIED, McDONOUGH, PAULIN, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law -- recommitted to the Committee on Election Law in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to including e-mail addresses in voter registration data The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (k) and (l) of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of 2 the election law, as amended by chapter 179 of the laws of 2005, subpar- 3 agraph (xii) of paragraph (k) as added by chapter 362 of the laws of 4 2008, are amended to read as follows: 5 (k) The form shall also include space for the following information, 6 which must be contained on the inside of the form after it is folded for 7 mailing: 8 (i) A space for the applicant to indicate whether or not he or she has 9 ever voted or registered to vote before and, if so, the approximate year 10 in which such applicant last voted or registered and his or her name and 11 address at the time. 12 (ii) The name and residence address of the applicant including the zip 13 code and apartment number, if any. 14 (iii) A space for the furnishing of an e-mail address, the furnishing 15 of which shall be optional, together with a notice stating that if an 16 e-mail address is furnished, all notices and communications otherwise 17 required to be sent by the state board of elections to the voter by 18 postal mail shall be sent by e-mail in addition to postal mail. County 19 boards of elections and the board of elections of the city of New York 20 shall have the option of sending notices and communications otherwise EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01443-02-6A. 5534--A 2 1 required to be sent to the voter by postal mail by e-mail in addition to 2 postal mail if the voter furnishes an email address. 3 (iv) The date of birth of the applicant. 4 [(iv)] (v) A space for the applicant to indicate his or her driver's 5 license or department of motor vehicles non-driver photo ID number or 6 the last four digits of his or her social security number or, if the 7 applicant does not have either such number, a space for the applicant to 8 indicate he or she does not have either. 9 [(v)] (vi) A space for the applicant to indicate whether or not he or 10 she is a citizen of the United States and the statement "If you checked 11 "no" in response to this question, do not complete this form." 12 [(vi)] (vii) A space for the applicant to answer the question "Will 13 you be 18 years of age on or before election day?" and the statement "If 14 you checked "no" in response to this question, do not complete this form 15 unless you will be 18 by the end of the year." 16 [(vii)] (viii) A statement informing the applicant that if the form is 17 submitted by mail and the applicant is registering for the first time, 18 certain information or documents must be submitted with the mail-in 19 registration form in order to avoid additional identification require- 20 ments upon voting for the first time. Such information and documents 21 are: 22 (A) a driver's license or department of motor vehicles non-driver 23 photo ID number; or 24 (B) the last four digits of the individual's social security number; 25 or 26 (C) a copy of a current and valid photo identification; or 27 (D) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government 28 check, paycheck or other government document that shows the name and 29 address of the voter. 30 [(viii)] (ix) The gender of the applicant (optional). 31 [(ix)] (x) A space for the applicant to indicate his or her choice of 32 party enrollment, with a clear alternative provided for the applicant to 33 decline to affiliate with any party. 34 [(x)] (xi) The telephone number of the applicant (optional). 35 [(xi)] (xii) A place for the applicant to execute the form on a line 36 which is clearly labeled "signature of applicant" preceded by the 37 following specific form of affirmation: 38 AFFIDAVIT: I swear or affirm that: 39 * I am a citizen of the United States. 40 * I will have lived in the county, city, or village for at least 30 41 days before the election. 42 * I meet all the requirements to register to vote in New York 43 State. 44 * This is my signature or mark on the line below. 45 * All the information contained on this application is true. I 46 understand that if it is not true I can be convicted and fined up 47 to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to four years. 48 which form of affirmation shall be followed by a space for the date and 49 the aforementioned line for the applicant's signature. 50 [(xii)] (xiii) A space for the applicant to register in the New York 51 state donate life registry for organ and tissue donations established 52 pursuant to section forty-three hundred ten of the public health law. 53 (l) The mail voter registration application form developed by the 54 federal election commission pursuant to the provisions of section nine 55 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 42 USC 1973gg-7 shall be 56 deemed to meet the requirements of this section. Any application forA. 5534--A 3 1 registration received on such an application form shall be accepted if 2 the applicant is otherwise eligible to register to vote pursuant to the 3 provisions of this article. A voter whose registration is accepted 4 pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph shall be permitted to 5 furnish an e-mail address to the board of elections, which furnishing 6 shall carry the same notice and have the same effect as provided by 7 subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision. 8 § 2. Paragraph d of subdivision 4 of section 5-500 of the election 9 law, as amended by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read 10 as follows: 11 d. The residence address at which the voter claims to reside and post 12 office address, if not the same; and the number or designation of the 13 room, apartment, or floor occupied by the voter if he or she does not 14 claim the entire building as his or her residence; and in addition, 15 space for the furnishing of an e-mail address, the furnishing of which 16 shall be optional, together with a notice stating that if an e-mail 17 address is furnished, all notices and communications otherwise required 18 to be sent by the state board of elections to the voter by postal mail 19 shall be sent by e-mail in addition to postal mail. County boards of 20 elections and the board of elections of the city of New York shall have 21 the option of sending notices and communications otherwise required to 22 be sent to the voter by postal mail by e-mail in addition to postal mail 23 if the voter furnishes an e-mail address; 24 § 3. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a 25 law; provided that the state board of elections is authorized to promul- 26 gate any and all rules and regulations and take any other measures 27 necessary to implement this act on its effective date on or before such 28 date.
