N.Y. Election Law § 5-210: Registration and enrollment and change of enrollment upon application

§ 5-210. Registration and enrollment and change of enrollment upon

application. 1. In addition to local registration and veterans' absentee

registration as provided in this chapter, any qualified person may apply

personally for registration and enrollment, change of enrollment by mail

or by appearing at the board of elections on any day, except a day of

election, during the hours that such board of elections is open for

business.

2. (a) Application forms for use pursuant to this section shall be

furnished by a county board of elections to any person requesting such

form. Application forms sent outside of the United States to a country

other than Canada or Mexico, shall be sent airmail. Each county board of

elections shall also cause such application forms to be as widely and

freely distributed as possible.

(b) The board of elections shall mail an application for registration

by mail and information on how the person may re-register to each person

for whom it receives notice pursuant to the provisions of subdivision

four of section 5-402 of this article that such person has moved into

such city or county unless such person is already registered from the

address listed in such notice.

3. Completed application forms, when received by any board of

elections and, with respect to application forms promulgated by the

federal election commission, when received by the state board of

elections, or showing a dated cancellation mark of the United States

Postal Service or contained in an envelope showing such a dated

cancellation mark which is not later than the fifteenth day before the

next ensuing primary, general or special election, and received no later

than the tenth day before such election, or delivered in person to such

board of elections not later than the tenth day before such election,

shall entitle the applicant to vote in such election and to have the

applicant's vote canvassed in accordance with this chapter, if the

applicant is otherwise qualified, provided, however, such applicant

shall not vote on a voting machine until their identity is verified. Any

board of elections receiving an application form from a person who does

not reside in its jurisdiction but who does reside elsewhere in the

state of New York, shall electronically forward such application form to

the proper board of elections on the same day it is received. Each board

of elections shall make an entry on each such form of the date it is

received by such board.

4. Any qualified person who has been honorably discharged from the

military after the twenty-fifth day before a general election, or who

has a qualifying condition, as defined in section one of the veterans'

services law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or

dishonorable from the military after the twenty-fifth day before a

general election, or who is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in

section one of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge

other than bad conduct or dishonorable from the military after the

twenty-fifth day before a general election, or who has become a

naturalized citizen after the twenty-fifth day before a general election

may personally register at the board of elections in the county of their

residence and vote in the general election held at least ten days after

such registration.

5. Statewide application forms shall be designed by the state board of

elections, which shall conform to the requirements for the national

voter registration form in the rules and regulations promulgated by the

federal election commission and the federal Help America Vote Act, and

shall elicit the information required for the registration poll record.

The form shall include such other information as the state board of

elections may reasonably require to enable the board of elections to

assess the eligibility of the applicant and to administer voter

registration and other parts of the election process and shall also

include the following information:

(a) Notice that those voters currently registered do not need to

reregister unless they have moved outside of the city or county in which

they were registered.

(b) Instructions on how to fill out and submit the form and that the

form must be received by any county board of elections at least ten days

prior to the election at which the applicant may vote, and if mailed,

must be postmarked at least fifteen days prior to the election at which

the applicant may vote.

(c) Notice that registration and enrollment is not complete until the

form is received by the appropriate county board of elections.

(d) Notice of a voter's right to register locally.

(e) A warning that it is a crime to procure a false registration or to

furnish false information to the board of elections.

(f) Notice that political party enrollment is optional but that, in

order to vote in a primary election of a political party, a voter must

enroll in that political party, unless state party rules allow

otherwise.

(g) Notice that the applicant must be a citizen of the United States,

is at least sixteen years old when they submit an application to

register to vote which will be effective for elections occurring on or

after the applicant turns eighteen years of age and a resident of the

county or city to which application is made.

(h) Notice that a voter notification form will be mailed to each

applicant whose completed form is received.

(i) The telephone number of the county board of elections and a toll

free number at the state board of elections that can be called for

answers to registration questions.

(j) A space for the applicant to indicate whether or not the voter is

willing to serve on election day for a board of elections as an election

inspector, poll clerk, interpreter or in other capacities.

(k) The form shall also include space for the following information,

which must be contained on the inside of the form after it is folded for

mailing:

(i) A space for the applicant to indicate whether or not they have

ever voted or registered to vote before and, if so, the approximate year

in which such applicant last voted or registered and their name and

address at the time.

(ii) The name and residence address of the applicant including the zip

code and apartment number, if any.

(iii) A 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 email address.

(iv) The date of birth of the applicant.

(v) A space for the applicant to indicate their driver's license or

department of motor vehicles non-driver photo ID number or the last four

digits of their social security number or, if the applicant does not

have either such number, a space for the applicant to indicate they do

not have either.

(vi) A space for the applicant to indicate whether or not they are a

citizen of the United States and the statement "If you checked "no" in

response to this question, do not complete this form."

(vii) A space for the applicant to answer the question "Will you be 18

years of age on or before election day?" and the statement "If you

checked "no" in response to this question, do not complete this form

unless you will be 18 by the end of the year."

(viii) A statement informing the applicant that if the form is

submitted by mail and the applicant is registering for the first time,

certain information or documents must be submitted with the mail-in

registration form in order to avoid additional identification

requirements upon voting for the first time. Such information and

documents are:

(A) a driver's license or department of motor vehicles non-driver

photo ID number; or

(B) the last four digits of the individual's social security number;

or

(C) a copy of a current and valid photo identification; or

(D) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government

check, paycheck or other government document that shows the name and

address of the voter.

(ix) The gender of the applicant (optional).

(x) A space for the applicant to indicate their choice of party

enrollment, with a clear alternative provided for the applicant to

decline to affiliate with any party.

(xi) The telephone number of the applicant (optional).

(xii) A place for the applicant to execute the form on a line which is

clearly labeled "signature of applicant" preceded by the following

specific form of affirmation:

AFFIDAVIT: I swear or affirm that:

* I am a citizen of the United States.

* I will have lived in the county, city, or village for at least 30

days before the election.

* I meet all the requirements to register to vote in New York

State.

* This is my signature or mark on the line below.

* All the information contained on this application is true. I

understand that if it is not true I can be convicted and fined up

to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to four years.

which form of affirmation shall be followed by a space for the date and

the aforementioned line for the applicant's signature.

(xiii) A space for the applicant to register in the New York state

donate life registry for organ and tissue donations established pursuant

to section forty-three hundred ten of the public health law.

(l) The mail voter registration application form developed by the

federal election commission pursuant to the provisions of section nine

of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 42 USC 1973gg-7 shall be

deemed to meet the requirements of this section. Any application for

registration received on such an application form shall be accepted if

the applicant is otherwise eligible to register to vote pursuant to the

provisions of this article. 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.

(m) The form of affidavit prescribed by the state board of elections

for requests for affidavit ballot pursuant to subdivision three of

section 8-302 of this chapter shall be deemed to meet the requirements

of this section. Any application for registration received on the form

of affidavit shall be accepted if the applicant is otherwise eligible to

register to vote pursuant to the provisions of this article, however the

failure to complete the voter registration application appearing on such

affidavit envelope shall not otherwise invalidate the affidavit ballot.

6. A person who willfully makes a material false statement in any

application for registration and enrollment and/or transfer of

registration and enrollment or special enrollment by mail, or who

knowingly makes a false affirmation, or who offers or attempts to offer

any application for registration and enrollment or transfer of

registration and enrollment or special enrollment knowing that the

applicant is not qualified to register or enroll, or transfer their

registration and enrollment or to specially enroll, shall be guilty of a

class E felony.

7. Each county board of elections shall deliver a sufficient number of

such uniform statewide application forms to each local post office

within its county and keep such post office so supplied, with the

request that the postmaster thereof make them available to the public

for its use in participating in the electoral process.

8. Upon its receipt by the county board of elections, each application

form shall be reviewed and examined by such board. If the application

shall contain substantially all the required information indicating that

the applicant is legally qualified to register and/or enroll as stated

in their application, the county board of elections shall transfer all

information on such application to the appropriate registration records.

If requested by any member of the board, the application form of any

voter, or group of voters, must be reviewed and examined by two such

board members or two employees of the board representing different

political parties. Such members or employees shall place their initials

or other identifying information on the registration poll record of such

voter or on a computer generated list of such registrations. Such lists

shall be preserved in the same manner, and for the same time, as such

registration poll records. If the application indicates that the voter

does not have a driver's license or department of motor vehicles

non-driver photo ID number or a social security number, the state board

of elections shall, upon the transmission of voter information to the

statewide voter registration list as required by section 5-614 of this

article, assign such voter a unique identifier.

9. The county board of elections shall, as soon as practicable and in

any event, not later than seven days after receipt by it of the

application, verify the identity of the applicant. In order to do so,

the county board of elections shall utilize the information provided in

the application and shall attempt to verify such information with the

information provided by the department of motor vehicles, social

security administration and any other lawful available information

source. If the county board of elections is unable to verify the

identity of the applicant within seven days of the receipt of the

application, it shall immediately take steps to confirm that the

information provided by the applicant was accurately utilized by such

county board of elections, was accurately verified with other

information sources and that no data entry error, or other similar type

of error, occurred. Following completion of the preceding steps, the

county board of elections shall mail (a) a notice of its approval, (b) a

notice of its approval which includes an indication that such board has

not yet been able to verify the identity of the applicant and a request

for more information so that such verification may be completed, or (c)

a notice of its rejection of the application to the applicant in a form

approved by the state board of elections. Notices of approval, notices

of approval with requests for more information or notices of rejection

shall be sent by nonforwardable first class or return postage guaranteed

mail on which is endorsed such language designated by the state board of

elections to ensure postal authorities do not forward such mail but

return it to the board of elections with forwarding information, when it

cannot be delivered as addressed and which contains a request that any

such mail received for persons not residing at the address be dropped

back in the mail. The voter's registration and enrollment shall be

complete upon receipt of the application by the appropriate county board

of elections. The failure of a county board of elections to verify an

applicant's identity shall not be the basis for the rejection of a

voter's application, provided, however, that such verification failure

shall be the basis for requiring county board of elections to take the

additional verification steps provided by this chapter. The notice shall

also advise the registrant of the date when their registration and

enrollment is effective, of the date and the hours of the next regularly

scheduled primary or general election in which such registrant will be

eligible to vote, of the location of the polling place of the election

district in which such registrant is or will be a qualified voter,

whether such polling place is accessible to physically handicapped

voters, an indication that any registered voter may vote early by mail

and information on how to obtain an early mail ballot, that physically

handicapped voters or voters who are ill or voters who will be out of

the city or county on the day of the primary or general election, may

obtain an absentee ballot and the phone number to call for absentee

ballot applications, the phone numbers to call for location of polling

places, to obtain registration forms and the phone number to call to

indicate that the voter is willing to serve on election day as an

inspector, poll clerk or interpreter. The notice of approval, notice of

approval with request for more information or notice of rejection shall

also advise the applicant to notify the board of elections if there is

any inaccuracy. The form of such mail notification shall be prescribed

by the state board of elections and shall contain such other information

and instructions as it may reasonably require to carry out the purposes

of this section. The request for more information shall inform the voter

that "THE FAILURE TO CONTACT THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND CORRECT ANY

INACCURACIES IN THE APPLICATION OR PROVIDE REQUESTED ADDITIONAL

INFORMATION MAY RESULT IN A REQUEST FOR IDENTIFICATION AT THE POLLS IN

ORDER TO CAST A VOTE ON A VOTING MACHINE." If such notice is returned

undelivered without a new address, the board shall forthwith send such

applicant a confirmation notice pursuant to the provisions of section

5-712 of this article and place such applicant in inactive status. The

state board of elections shall prepare uniform notices by this section

as provided for in subdivision eight of section 3-102 of this chapter.

10. If the board of elections has been unable to verify the identity

of the applicant within forty-five days of the application, the board

shall mail a second request for more information to the applicant. This

notice shall inform the voter that "THE FAILURE TO CONTACT THE BOARD OF

ELECTIONS AND CORRECT ANY INACCURACIES IN THE APPLICATION OR PROVIDE

REQUESTED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY RESULT IN A REQUEST FOR

IDENTIFICATION AT THE POLLS IN ORDER TO CAST A VOTE ON A VOTING

MACHINE." If the board of elections remains unable to verify the

identity of the voter it shall so indicate with a notation next to the

voter's name in the registration list. Such a voter may provide

information to assist the county board to verify their identity at any

time and such notation shall be removed by the board of elections upon

such verification.

11. If the county board of elections suspects or believes that for any

reason the applicant is not entitled to registration and enrollment, it

shall make inquiry in reference thereto. If the board of elections shall

find that the applicant is not qualified to register and enroll, the

application shall be rejected and the applicant notified of such

rejection and the reason therefor, no later than seven days before the

day of the first primary or general election occurring at least ten days

after the filing of the application.

12. Whenever the county board of elections is not satisfied from an

examination of an application for registration and enrollment, or after

its initial inquiry, that the applicant is entitled to such registration

or enrollment, it may order an investigation through any officer or

employee of the state or county board of elections, police officer,

sheriff or deputy sheriff.

13. An affidavit or a signed statement by any officer or employee of

the state or county board of elections or any police officer, sheriff or

deputy sheriff, that such person visited the premises claimed by the

applicant as their residence and interrogated an incarcerated

individual, house-dweller, keeper, caretaker, owner, proprietor or

landlord thereof or therein as to such applicant's residence therein or

thereat, and that they were informed by one or more such persons, naming

them, that they knew the persons residing upon such premises and that

the applicant did not reside upon such premises as set forth in their

application, shall be sufficient authority for a determination by the

board that the applicant is not entitled to registration or enrollment;

but this provision shall not preclude the board from making such other

determination, as the result of other inquiry, as it may deem

appropriate.

14. Notwithstanding the entry by the county board of elections on the

registration poll record of the information contained on an application

form prescribed by this section, such entry shall not preclude the

county board of elections from subsequently rejecting the application if

it is not satisfied that the applicant is entitled to register and

enroll as provided by this section, provided that the applicant is

notified of such rejection and reasons therefor no later than seven days

before the day of the first primary or general election occurring at

least ten days after the filing of such application form.

15. a. The county board of elections shall keep a record of

applications for registration as they are received and at least once

each month, shall, upon request of the chairman of a political party in

the county, give such chairman a complete list of the persons whose

applications were approved together with their addresses and telephone

numbers, and their election and assembly districts or wards, if any.

b. Not more than four times a year, on dates determined by the state

board of elections, the county board of elections shall send to the

chairman of each political party in the county a complete list of the

persons whose applications were approved together with their addresses,

their election and assembly districts or wards, if any, their party

enrollments and an indication of whether such persons are eligible to

vote in the primary elections to be held in that calendar year. Not more

than twice a year, in even numbered years, on dates determined by the

state board of elections, the county board of elections shall send a

copy of such list to the state board of elections. In counties of over

one hundred thousand population, each such list shall be, and in other

counties each such list may be, cumulative and include the names of all

such persons whose names do not appear in the annual enrollment lists

last published by such board of elections, together with an indication

of which such names did not appear on the previous list. Such lists may

also include the names of those persons whose names do appear in the

annual enrollment lists. Such lists shall be arranged in the same manner

as the annual enrollment lists. Additional copies of such lists shall be

available to the public at a charge not exceeding the cost of

publication or reproduction.