Bill Text: NY S04635 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires persons registering to vote to designate their race and/or ethnicity.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S04635 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-S04635-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         4635
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                    April 14, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by Sen. GRISANTI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
       AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation  to  requiring  boards  of
         election  to  collect race and ethnicity information on persons regis-
         tering to vote
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Section  3-102 of the election law is amended by adding a
    2  new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
    3    2-A. PREPARE AND ESTABLISH UNIFORM PROVISIONS FOR THE  DESIGNATION  OF
    4  EACH VOTER'S RACE AND/OR ETHNICITY ON REGISTRATION AND CHANGE OF ADDRESS
    5  FORMS.  IN  ADDITION,  THE  STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL RECEIVE, FROM
    6  EACH BOARD OF ELECTIONS,  INFORMATION  ON  THE  RACE  AND  ETHNICITY  OF
    7  VOTERS. SUCH INFORMATION SHALL BE MAINTAINED ON A COMPUTERIZED DATABASE.
    8    S  2.  Section  3-212  of  the election law is amended by adding a new
    9  subdivision 6 to read as follows:
   10    6. EACH BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL MAINTAIN A RECORD  OF  THE  RACE  AND
   11  ETHNICITY  OF  REGISTERED  VOTERS. ON OR BEFORE JANUARY FIRST EACH YEAR,
   12  EACH SUCH BOARD SHALL REPORT THE RACE AND ETHNICITY INFORMATION  TO  THE
   13  STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS.
   14    S  3. Subdivision 3 of section 5-204 of the election law is amended by
   15  adding a new paragraph a-1 to read as follows:
   16    A-1. EVERY REGISTRATION FORM SHALL INCLUDE  PROVISIONS  IN  WHICH  THE
   17  APPLICANT  SHALL  DESIGNATE  HIS OR HER RACE AND/OR ETHNICITY; PROVIDED,
   18  HOWEVER, THAT SUCH PROVISIONS SHALL INCLUDE A SPACE IN WHICH THE  APPLI-
   19  CANT MAY AFFIRMATIVELY REFUSE TO PROVIDE SUCH INFORMATION.
   20    S  4.  Section  5-208  of  the election law is amended by adding a new
   21  subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
   22    1-A. EVERY SUCH NOTICE OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS SHALL  INCLUDE  PROVISIONS
   23  IN  WHICH  THE  VOTER  SHALL DESIGNATE HIS OR HER RACE AND/OR ETHNICITY;
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD09532-01-1
       S. 4635                             2
    1  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH PROVISIONS SHALL INCLUDE A SPACE  IN  WHICH
    2  THE VOTER MAY AFFIRMATIVELY REFUSE TO PROVIDE SUCH INFORMATION.
    3    S  5.  Paragraph (k) of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of the election
    4  law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (xiii) to read as follows:
    5    (XIII) A SPACE IN WHICH THE APPLICANT SHALL DESIGNATE HIS OR HER  RACE
    6  AND/OR  ETHNICITY;  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT SUCH SPACE SHALL INCLUDE A
    7  LINE ON WHICH THE APPLICANT MAY AFFIRMATIVELY  REFUSE  TO  PROVIDE  SUCH
    8  INFORMATION.
    9    S 6. This act shall take effect immediately, except that sections two,
   10  three, four and five of this act shall take effect on the first of Janu-
   11  ary next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.