NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A792 Revised 2/11/2021
SPONSOR: Carroll TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to registering to vote and
enrolling in a party within 10 days of a primary, general or special
election; and to repeal subdivision 3 of section 5-304 of the election
law relating thereto
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To allow for the process of registering to vote and changing party
enrollment to take place no later than ten days prior to any primary,
general, or special election.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 completed new voter application farms must be submitted to the
state board of elections not later than the tenth day and received not
later than the fifth day preceding the next ensuing election to be
valid. If a voter changes their party affiliation while being a regis-
tered voter they can participate in any election so long as this transi-
tion of information is submitted no later than ten days and received not
later than the fifth day preceding the next ensuing election. An appli-
cation from a military voter who was not previously registered must be
received by the appropriate board of elections no later than ten days
before any such election. When special federal voters are able to vote,
those who were not previously registered must do so and enroll in such
party no later than ten days before such primary.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Amending the law to allow for registering to vote and changing party
enrollment within ten days of the next ensuing election will allow for
voters to more easily vote in more elections and would significantly
increase voter participation.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.6406 of 2017-18 A.3557 of 2019-20
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
792
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL, COLTON, EPSTEIN, FAHY, RICHARDSON,
SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to registering to vote and
enrolling in a party within 10 days of a primary, general or special
election; and to repeal subdivision 3 of section 5-304 of the election
law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 3 and 4 of section 5-210 of the election law,
2 subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 255 of the laws of 2015 and subdivi-
3 sion 4 as amended by chapter 490 of the laws of 2019, are amended to
4 read as follows:
5 3. Completed application forms, when received by any board of
6 elections and, with respect to application forms promulgated by the
7 federal election commission, when received by the state board of
8 elections, or showing a dated cancellation mark of the United States
9 Postal Service or contained in an envelope showing such a dated cancel-
10 lation mark which is not later than the [twenty-fifth] tenth day before
11 the next ensuing primary, general or special election, and received no
12 later than the [twentieth] fifth day before such election, or delivered
13 in person to such board of elections not later than the tenth day before
14 a special election, shall entitle the applicant to vote in such
15 election, if he or she is otherwise qualified, provided, however, such
16 applicant shall not vote on a voting machine until his or her identity
17 is verified. Any board of elections receiving an application form from a
18 person who does not reside in its jurisdiction but who does reside else-
19 where in the state of New York, shall forthwith forward such application
20 form to the proper board of elections. Each board of elections shall
21 make an entry on each such form of the date it is received by such
22 board.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05358-01-1
A. 792 2
1 [4. Any qualified person who has been honorably discharged from the
2 military after the twenty-fifth day before a general election, or who
3 has a qualifying condition, as defined in section three hundred fifty of
4 the executive law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct
5 or dishonorable from the military after the twenty-fifth day before a
6 general election, or who is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in
7 section three hundred fifty of the executive law, and has received a
8 discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from the military after
9 the twenty-fifth day before a general election, or who has become a
10 naturalized citizen after the twenty-fifth day before a general election
11 may personally register at the board of elections in the county of his
12 or her residence and vote in the general election held at least ten days
13 after such registration.]
14 § 2. Subdivisions 11 and 12 of section 5-211 of the election law,
15 subdivision 11 as amended by chapter 200 of the laws of 1996 and subdi-
16 vision 12 as added by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, are amended to
17 read as follows:
18 11. The participating agency shall transmit the completed applications
19 for registration and change of address forms to the appropriate board of
20 elections not later than ten days after receipt except that all such
21 completed applications and forms received by the agency between the
22 thirtieth and [twenty-fifth] tenth day before an election shall be tran-
23 smitted in such manner and at such time as to assure their receipt by
24 such board of elections not later than the [twentieth] fifth day before
25 such election.
26 12. Completed application forms, when received by a participating
27 agency not later than the [twenty-fifth] tenth day before the next ensu-
28 ing primary, general or special election and transmitted by such agency
29 to the appropriate board of elections so that they are received by such
30 board not later than the [twentieth] fifth day before such election
31 shall entitle the applicant to vote in such election provided the board
32 determines that the applicant is otherwise qualified.
33 § 3. Subdivisions 6 and 7 of section 5-212 of the election law, subdi-
34 vision 6 as amended by chapter 200 of the laws of 1996 and subdivision 7
35 as added by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, are amended to read as
36 follows:
37 6. The department of motor vehicles shall transmit that portion of the
38 form which constitutes the completed application for registration or
39 change of address form to the appropriate board of elections not later
40 than ten days after receipt except that all such completed applications
41 and forms received by the department between the thirtieth and [twenty-
42 fifth] tenth day before an election shall be transmitted in such manner
43 and at such time as to assure their receipt by such board of elections
44 not later than the [twentieth] fifth day before such election. All
45 transmittals shall include original signatures.
46 7. Completed application forms received by the department of motor
47 vehicles not later than the [twenty-fifth] tenth day before the next
48 ensuing primary, general or special election and transmitted by such
49 department to the appropriate board of elections so that they are
50 received not later than the [twentieth] fifth day before such election
51 shall entitle the applicant to vote in such election provided the board
52 determines that the applicant is otherwise qualified.
53 § 4. Subdivisions 2, 4 and 5 of section 5-302 of the election law,
54 subdivisions 2 and 5 as amended by chapter 164 of the laws of 1985 and
55 subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 91 of the laws of 1992, are amended
56 to read as follows:
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1 2. If the application form is for a voter who has changed his or her
2 enrollment or a voter who has previously registered and not enrolled,
3 then the board of elections shall compare the information and the signa-
4 ture appearing on each application form received with that on the regis-
5 tration poll record of the applicant and if found to correspond in all
6 particulars shall[, not earlier than the Tuesday following the next
7 general election and not later than the thirtieth day preceding the last
8 day for publishing enrollment lists, proceed in the manner specified in
9 subdivision one hereof to enter such enrollment on such voter's regis-
10 tration poll card] enroll such voter in the designated party and if the
11 change of enrollment is no later than the tenth day before the next
12 ensuing primary election for the selected party, such voter shall be
13 eligible to vote in the next primary election of the selected party.
14 4. Registration poll records of voters whose registrations are not
15 rejected by the board of elections shall forthwith be placed in the poll
16 ledger or such voters' names shall forthwith be entered in the computer
17 files from which the computer generated registration lists are prepared,
18 except that the registration poll record of an otherwise qualified voter
19 who registers after the [twenty-fifth] tenth day before a primary
20 election shall not be placed in such poll ledger or such voters' names
21 shall not appear on such a computer generated registration list until
22 after such primary and except further that the registration poll record
23 of a voter whose previous registration was cancelled pursuant to the
24 provisions of this chapter after the previous general election and who
25 registers pursuant to the provisions of this chapter after such cancel-
26 lation shall not be placed in such poll ledger or such voters' names
27 shall not appear on such a computer generated registration list until
28 after the fall primary election, unless such voter has enrolled with the
29 same party as the enrollment on the registration which was so cancelled.
30 5. During the period preceding the ensuing primary election, the board
31 of elections shall maintain as a public record a list of all enrollments
32 entered, transferred or corrected, and not contained in the last
33 published enrollment list. Such supplemental enrollment list shall
34 contain the same information and shall be distributed in the same manner
35 as the original enrollment list not later than the [fifteenth] fifth day
36 before the primary election.
37 § 5. Subdivision 3 of section 5-304 of the election law is REPEALED.
38 § 6. Subdivision 5 of section 10-106 of the election law, as amended
39 by chapter 290 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read as follows:
40 5. The state board of elections shall forward to the appropriate board
41 of elections all applications for military ballots received by it. An
42 application from a military voter not previously registered must be
43 received by the appropriate board of elections not later than ten days
44 before a general or special election or [twenty-five] ten days before a
45 primary election in order to entitle the applicant to vote at such
46 election. An application from a military voter who is already registered
47 must be received at least seven days before an election in order to
48 entitle the applicant to vote at such election; except that an applica-
49 tion from such a military voter who delivers his or her application to
50 the board of elections in person, must be received not later than the
51 day before the election.
52 § 7. Subdivision 2 of section 11-200 of the election law, as amended
53 by chapter 473 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
54 2. Every person registered pursuant to this title shall continue to be
55 eligible to vote in all elections in which special federal voters are
56 eligible to vote except that in order to vote at a primary election of a
A. 792 4
1 party, a voter registered pursuant to this title must have been so
2 registered and enrolled in such party [before the previous general
3 election; or, if such voter was not registered in New York state for the
4 previous general election, such voter must so register and enroll in
5 such party] not later than [twenty-five] ten days before such primary[;
6 or, if such voter was registered in New York state for the last general
7 election, such voter must have had the same party enrollment with such
8 registration as such voter sets forth on his application for registra-
9 tion and enrollment as a special federal voter].
10 § 8. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 11-202 of the election
11 law, as amended by chapter 262 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read
12 as follows:
13 a. A person, who, pursuant to this title, is qualified to vote as a
14 special federal voter may, by application received by the state board of
15 elections or any local board of elections on or before the [twenty-
16 fifth] tenth day next preceding any election in which such person would
17 be entitled to vote or the last day of local registration for such
18 election, whichever is later, apply to the board of elections of the
19 county in which he resided in person or by personal application by mail
20 for registration and enrollment as a special federal voter. An applica-
21 tion for registration and enrollment pursuant to this article shall be
22 treated as an application for a special federal ballot for every
23 election in which the applicant would be eligible to vote which is held
24 through and including the next two regularly scheduled general elections
25 held in even numbered years, including any run-offs which may occur.
26 § 9. This act shall take effect immediately.
