Lowers the voting age to 17 years and requires that students receive education in civics and be given the opportunity to register to vote in the classroom.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6839
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 22, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the qualifications of
voters; and to amend the education law, in relation to civic education
and student voter registration
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 5-102 of the election law is
2 amended to read as follows:
3 1. No person shall be qualified to register for and vote at any
4 election unless [he] such person is a citizen of the United States and
5 is or will be, on the day of such election, [eighteen] seventeen years
6 of age or over, and a resident of this state and of the county, city or
7 village for a minimum of thirty days next preceding such election.
8 § 2. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of the election
9 law, as amended by chapter 179 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read
10 as follows:
11 (g) Notice that the applicant must be a citizen of the United States,
12 is or will be at least [eighteen] seventeen years old not later than
13 December thirty-first of the calendar year in which he or she registers
14 and a resident of the county or city to which application is made.
15 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 8-504 of the election law, as renumbered
16 by chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
17 3. After receiving the answers as above specified, of any applicant,
18 the board shall, if it believes the applicant to be qualified or the
19 challenge is withdrawn, permit him or her to vote. Otherwise, the board
20 shall point out to him or her the qualifications, if any, in respect of
21 which he or she shall appear deficient. If, after such deficiencies have
22 been so indicated, the applicant shall persist in his or her claim to
23 vote, an inspector shall administer to him or her the following oath,
24 which shall be known as "The Qualification Oath": "You do swear (or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10507-03-7
A. 6839 2
1 affirm) that you are [eighteen] seventeen years of age, that you are a
2 citizen of the United States and that you have been a resident of this
3 state, and of this county (of the city of New York) (village) for thirty
4 days next preceding this election, that you still reside at the same
5 address from which you have been duly registered in this election
6 district, that you have not voted at this election, and that you do not
7 know of any reason why you are not qualified to vote at this election.
8 You do further declare that you are aware that it is a crime to make any
9 false statement. That all the statements you have made to the board have
10 been true and that you understand that a false statement is perjury and
11 you will be guilty of a misdemeanor."
12 § 4. Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 801 of the education law, as
13 amended by chapter 574 of the laws of 1997, are amended and a new subdi-
14 vision 6 is added to read as follows:
15 1. In order to promote a spirit of patriotic and civic service and
16 obligation and to foster in the children of the state moral and intel-
17 lectual qualities which are essential in preparing to meet the obli-
18 gations of citizenship in peace or in war, the regents of The University
19 of the State of New York shall prescribe courses of instruction in
20 patriotism, citizenship and civics, and human rights issues, with
21 particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery
22 (including the freedom trail and underground railroad), the Holocaust,
23 and the mass starvation in Ireland from 1845 to 1850, to be maintained
24 and followed in all the schools of the state. The boards of education
25 and trustees of the several cities and school districts of the state
26 shall require instruction to be given in such courses, by the teachers
27 employed in the schools therein. All pupils attending such schools, over
28 the age of eight years, shall attend upon such instruction. All pupils
29 in the ninth and higher grades shall receive civic education for at
30 least eight full class periods, in accordance with the department's 9-12
31 social studies framework.
32 Similar courses of instruction shall be prescribed and maintained in
33 private schools in the state, and all pupils in such schools in grades
34 or classes corresponding to the instruction in the eighth and higher
35 grades of the public schools shall attend upon such courses. If such
36 courses are not so established and maintained in a private school,
37 attendance upon instruction in such school shall not be deemed substan-
38 tially equivalent to instruction given to pupils in the public schools
39 of the city or district in which such pupils reside.
40 3. The regents shall determine the subjects to be included in such
41 courses of instruction in patriotism, citizenship and civics, and human
42 rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity
43 of genocide, slavery (including the freedom trail and underground rail-
44 road), the Holocaust, and the mass starvation in Ireland from 1845 to
45 1850, and in the history, meaning, significance and effect of the
46 provisions of the constitution of the United States, the amendments
47 thereto, the declaration of independence, the constitution of the state
48 of New York and the amendments thereto, and the period of instruction in
49 each of the grades in such subjects. They shall adopt rules providing
50 for attendance upon such instruction and for such other matters as are
51 required for carrying into effect the objects and purposes of this
52 section. The commissioner shall be responsible for the enforcement of
53 such section and shall cause to be inspected and supervise the instruc-
54 tion to be given in such subjects. The commissioner may, in his
55 discretion, cause all or a portion of the public school money to be
56 apportioned to a district or city to be withheld for failure of the
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1 school authorities of such district or city to provide instruction in
2 such courses and to compel attendance upon such instruction, as herein
3 prescribed, and for a non-compliance with the rules of the regents
4 adopted as herein provided.
5 6. a. The regents, in collaboration with the state board of
6 elections, shall make available to each high school two forms to be
7 distributed to all pupils who shall be seventeen years of age on or
8 before December thirty-first of each year. Such forms shall be distrib-
9 uted on one date between the second and fifth school day in the month of
10 January of each year.
11 b. The first form to be distributed pursuant to this subdivision shall
12 be a standard voter registration form as prescribed by section 5-210 of
13 the election law. Such form shall be completed for each eligible pupil,
14 by school administrators who shall complete each field of the registra-
15 tion form except the fields pertaining to citizenship status, party
16 affiliation, signature and date. The content of the registration form
17 shall be explained to all pupils to whom forms are distributed and
18 pupils shall be directed to correct any incorrect information previously
19 completed by school administrators.
20 c. The second form to be distributed pursuant to this subdivision
21 shall be entitled "Voter Registration Opt-Out Form" and shall contain
22 the following statement: "I, the undersigned, decline to register as a
23 voter in the State of New York at this time, and defer my choice of
24 registration in the State of New York to a future date of my choosing."
25 Such form shall be created by the regents in collaboration with the
26 state board of elections.
27 d. Pupils shall be given classroom time to have the opportunity to
28 complete either the standard voter registration form or the voter regis-
29 tration opt-out form. After pupils have had time to complete both forms,
30 school administrators shall collect both forms from all pupils to whom
31 the forms were distributed. School administrators shall be required to
32 dispose of all voter registration forms for pupils who elect to not
33 register to vote.
34 § 5. This act shall take effect on the same date as a concurrent
35 resolution amending the constitution, entitled "CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF
36 THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing amendments to section 1 of article 2
37 of the constitution, in relation to the voting age".
