Cahill, Colton, De La Rosa, Finch, Gottfried, Lentol, McDonough, Miller B, Miller ML, Thiele
 
Amd §§5-210 & 5-500, El L
 
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.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1565
SPONSOR: Galef (MS)
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the election law, in relation to
including e-mail addresses in voter registration data
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to give voters the option of provid-
ing their e-mail addresses when registering to vote and to require that
the New York State Board of Elections send all official communications
to a person via regular mail and e-mail if the person provides their
e-mail address when registering to vote.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Establishes a space for the furnishing of an e-mail address,
the furnishing of which shall be optional, together with a notice stat-
ing that if an e-mail address is furnished, all notices and communi-
cations otherwise required to be sent by the state board of elections to
the voter by postal mail shall be sent by e-mail in addition to postal
mail. County boards of elections and the board of elections of the city
of New York shall have the option of sending notices and communication
otherwise required to be sent to the voter by postal mail by e-mail in
addition to postal mail if the vote furnishes an email address. It also
adds the language that a voter whose registration is accepted pursuant
to the provisions of this paragraph shall be permitted to furnish an
e-mail address to the board of elections, which furnishing shall carry
the same notice and have the same effect as provided by subparagraph
(iii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision.
Section 2. Paragraph d of subdivision 4 of section 5-500 of the Election
Law is amended by adding the following language: In addition, space for
the furnishing of an e-mail address, the furnishing of which shall be
optional, together with a notice stating that if an e-mail address is
furnished, all notices and communications otherwise required to be sent
by the state board of elections to the voter by postal mail shall be
sent by e-mail in addition to postal mail. County boards of elections
and the board of elections of the city of New York shall have the option
of sending notices and communications otherwise required to be sent to
the voter by postal mail by e-mail in addition to postal mail if the
voter furnishes an e-mail address.
Section 3. Establishes the effective date.
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
This portion is not applicable at this time.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
At this time, many people rely as much on their e-mail as much as their
postal mail to stay connected to the world. By providing an optional
entry for e-mail addresses on voter registration forms, boards of
elections will be able to reach voters via e-mail with all pertinent
election information. Currently, those registering to vote in New York
State do not have the ability to provide their e-mail addresses to the
Board of Elections.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A. 1057 and S. 7754 of 2017/2018
A. 5858 and S. 1939 of 2013/2014
A. 4313 and S. 3252 of 2009/2010
A. 10428 and S. 7034 of 2005/2006A.
A.5534-A and S. 7811-A of 2015/2016
A. 3590 and S. 1567 of 2011/2012
A. 5452 of 2007/2008
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
There may be some initial costs associated with the state and county
board of elections developing and expanding their e-mail delivery and
notification systems. In the long run, savings should be experienced.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law;
provided that the state board of elections is authorized to promulgate
any and all rules and regulations and take any other measures necessary
to implement this act on its effective date on or before such date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
S. 1718 A. 1565
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
January 15, 2019
___________
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Elections
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. GALEF, PEOPLES-STOKES, PAULIN,
DINOWITZ, ARROYO, JAFFEE, WEPRIN, ABINANTI, SIMON, ORTIZ, NIOU, STECK,
WRIGHT, MOSLEY, KOLB, GIGLIO, ASHBY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
CAHILL, COLTON, DE LA ROSA, FINCH, GOTTFRIED, LENTOL, McDONOUGH,
B. MILLER, M. L. MILLER, THIELE -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Election Law
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
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00238-01-9
S. 1718 2 A. 1565
1 postal mail shall be sent by e-mail in addition to postal mail. County
2 boards of elections and the board of elections of the city of New York
3 shall have the option of sending notices and communications otherwise
4 required to be sent to the voter by postal mail by e-mail in addition to
5 postal mail if the voter furnishes an email address.
6 (iv) The date of birth of the applicant.
7 [(iv)] (v) A space for the applicant to indicate his or her driver's
8 license or department of motor vehicles non-driver photo ID number or
9 the last four digits of his or her social security number or, if the
10 applicant does not have either such number, a space for the applicant to
11 indicate he or she does not have either.
12 [(v)] (vi) A space for the applicant to indicate whether or not he or
13 she is a citizen of the United States and the statement "If you checked
14 "no" in response to this question, do not complete this form."
15 [(vi)] (vii) A space for the applicant to answer the question "Will
16 you be 18 years of age on or before election day?" and the statement "If
17 you checked "no" in response to this question, do not complete this form
18 unless you will be 18 by the end of the year."
19 [(vii)] (viii) A statement informing the applicant that if the form is
20 submitted by mail and the applicant is registering for the first time,
21 certain information or documents must be submitted with the mail-in
22 registration form in order to avoid additional identification require-
23 ments upon voting for the first time. Such information and documents
24 are:
25 (A) a driver's license or department of motor vehicles non-driver
26 photo ID number; or
27 (B) the last four digits of the individual's social security number;
28 or
29 (C) a copy of a current and valid photo identification; or
30 (D) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government
31 check, paycheck or other government document that shows the name and
32 address of the voter.
33 [(viii)] (ix) The gender of the applicant (optional).
34 [(ix)] (x) A space for the applicant to indicate his or her choice of
35 party enrollment, with a clear alternative provided for the applicant to
36 decline to affiliate with any party.
37 [(x)] (xi) The telephone number of the applicant (optional).
38 [(xi)] (xii) A place for the applicant to execute the form on a line
39 which is clearly labeled "signature of applicant" preceded by the
40 following specific form of affirmation:
41 AFFIDAVIT: I swear or affirm that:
42 * I am a citizen of the United States.
43 * I will have lived in the county, city, or village for at least 30
44 days before the election.
45 * I meet all the requirements to register to vote in New York
46 State.
47 * This is my signature or mark on the line below.
48 * All the information contained on this application is true. I
49 understand that if it is not true I can be convicted and fined up
50 to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to four years.
51 which form of affirmation shall be followed by a space for the date and
52 the aforementioned line for the applicant's signature.
53 [(xii)] (xiii) A space for the applicant to register in the New York
54 state donate life registry for organ and tissue donations established
55 pursuant to section forty-three hundred ten of the public health law.
S. 1718 3 A. 1565
1 (l) The mail voter registration application form developed by the
2 federal election commission pursuant to the provisions of section nine
3 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 42 USC 1973gg-7 shall be
4 deemed to meet the requirements of this section. Any application for
5 registration received on such an application form shall be accepted if
6 the applicant is otherwise eligible to register to vote pursuant to the
7 provisions of this article. A voter whose registration is accepted
8 pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph shall be permitted to
9 furnish an e-mail address to the board of elections, which furnishing
10 shall carry the same notice and have the same effect as provided by
11 subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision.
12 § 2. Paragraph d of subdivision 4 of section 5-500 of the election
13 law, as amended by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read
14 as follows:
15 d. The residence address at which the voter claims to reside and post
16 office address, if not the same; and the number or designation of the
17 room, apartment, or floor occupied by the voter if he or she does not
18 claim the entire building as his or her residence; and in addition,
19 space for the furnishing of an e-mail address, the furnishing of which
20 shall be optional, together with a notice stating that if an e-mail
21 address is furnished, all notices and communications otherwise required
22 to be sent by the state board of elections to the voter by postal mail
23 shall be sent by e-mail in addition to postal mail. County boards of
24 elections and the board of elections of the city of New York shall have
25 the option of sending notices and communications otherwise required to
26 be sent to the voter by postal mail by e-mail in addition to postal mail
27 if the voter furnishes an e-mail address;
28 § 3. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
29 law; provided that the state board of elections is authorized to promul-
30 gate any and all rules and regulations and take any other measures
31 necessary to implement this act on its effective date on or before such
32 date.