NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8858A
SPONSOR: Carroll TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the election law, in relation to voter
registration
PURPOSE:
The bill authorizes voters whose applications are timely mailed and
received to vote in the next primary, general, or special election.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 3 of section 5-210 of the
election. law, as amended by chapter 225 of the laws of 2015, to provide
that an application postmarked by no later than fifteen days before the
next primary, general or special election, which is received no later
than ten days before such election, or which is delivered in person at
least ten days:before such election to the county board of elections,
shall entitle such applicant to vote at such election.
Section 2 of the bill establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Article II, Section 5 of the New York State Constitution requires that
in order to vote in an election a voter's registration must be completed
at least ten days before such election. This bill reduces the time peri-
od prior to an election during which a person can register to vote and
be entitled to vote to the constitutional ten day minimum, and clarifies
that when a registration is received at least ten days before a primary,
general or special election, the voter is entitled to vote in that
election.
Under current law, an application postmarked by twenty-five days before
the next primary, general or special election, which is received at
least 20 days before such election, or delivered in person to the county
board of elections at least 10 days before a special election entitles
the applicant to vote in that special election. It fails to address the
right of the applicant to vote in primary and general elections in the
same circumstances, which appears to be a technical error.
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:
None.
FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCALITIES:
None.
IMPACT ON REGULATION OF BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS:
None.
IMPACT ON FINES, IMPRISONMENT, FORFEITURE OF RIGHTS, OR OTHER PENAL
SANCTIONS:
None.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2020:52311(Kavanagh)/A116(Buchwald)- PASSED SENATE/election law
2019:S2311(Kavanagh)/A116(Buchwald)- PASSED SENATE/election law
2018:57131(Kavanagh)/A10582(Buchwald)- Elections/Election Law
2017:A5908(Kavanagh)- ElectionLaw 2016:A5870(Kavanagh)- ElectionLaw
2015:A5870(Kavanagh)- ElectionLaw 2014:A2104(Kavanagh)- ElectionLaw
2013:A2104(Kavanagh)- ElectionLaw 2012:A5900(Kavanagh)- ElectionLaw
2011:A5900(Kavanagh)- ElectionLaw 2010:A8348(Kavanagh)- ElectionLaw
2009:A8348(Kavanagh)- ElectionLaw
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take January 1, 2023
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8858--A
IN ASSEMBLY
January 19, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL, ENGLEBRIGHT, DICKENS, GOTTFRIED, ZEBROW-
SKI, HEVESI, SIMON, PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Election Law -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to voter registration
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 5-210 of the election law, as
2 amended by chapter 255 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 3. Completed application forms, when received by any board of
5 elections and, with respect to application forms promulgated by the
6 federal election commission, when received by the state board of
7 elections, or showing a dated cancellation mark of the United States
8 Postal Service or contained in an envelope showing such a dated cancel-
9 lation mark which is not later than the [twenty-fifth] fifteenth day
10 before the next ensuing primary, general or special election, and
11 received no later than the [twentieth] tenth day before such election,
12 or delivered in person to such board of elections not later than the
13 tenth day before [a special] such election, shall entitle the applicant
14 to vote in such election, if he or she is otherwise qualified, provided,
15 however, such applicant shall not vote on a voting machine until his or
16 her identity is verified. Any board of elections receiving an applica-
17 tion form from a person who does not reside in its jurisdiction but who
18 does reside elsewhere in the state of New York, shall forthwith forward
19 such application form to the proper board of elections. Each board of
20 elections shall make an entry on each such form of the date it is
21 received by such board.
22 § 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06190-02-2
