N.Y. Election Law § 5-211: Agency assisted registration

§ 5-211. Agency assisted registration. Each agency designated as a

participating agency under the provisions of this section shall

implement and administer a program of distribution of voter registration

forms pursuant to the provisions of this section. The following offices

which provide public assistance and/or provide state funded programs

primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities are

hereby designated as voter registration agencies: designated as the

state agencies which provide public assistance are the office of

children and family services, the office of temporary and disability

assistance and the department of health. Also designated as public

assistance agencies are all agencies of local government that provide

such assistance. Designated as state agencies that provide programs

primarily engaged in providing services to people with disabilities are

the department of labor, office for the aging, department of veterans'

services, office of mental health, office of vocational and educational

services for individuals with disabilities, commission on quality of

care for the mentally disabled, office for people with developmental

disabilities, commission for the blind, office of addiction services and

supports, the office of the advocate for the disabled and all offices

which administer programs established or funded by such agencies.

Additional participating agencies designated as voter registration

offices are the department of state and the district offices of the

workers' compensation board. Such agencies shall be required to offer

voter registration forms to persons upon initial application for

services, renewal or recertification for services and upon change of

address relating to such services. Such agencies shall also be

responsible for providing assistance to applicants in completing voter

registration forms, receiving and transmitting the completed application

form from all applicants who wish to have such form transmitted to the

appropriate board of elections. The state board of elections shall,

together with representatives of the United States department of

defense, develop and implement procedures for including recruitment

offices of the armed forces of the United States as voter registration

offices when such offices are so designated by federal law. The state

board of elections shall also make request of the United States

Citizenship and Immigration Services to include applications for

registration by mail with any materials which are given to new citizens.

1. The state board of elections shall adopt such rules and regulations

as may be necessary to carry out the requirements of this section and

shall prepare and distribute to participating agencies written

instructions as to the implementation of the program and shall be

responsible for establishing training programs for employees of

participating agencies involved in such program. The state board of

elections shall provide a toll free telephone to answer registration

questions.

2. Strict neutrality with respect to a person's party enrollment shall

be maintained and all persons seeking voter registration forms and

information shall be advised that government services are not

conditioned on being registered to vote. No statement shall be made nor

any action taken to discourage the applicant from registering to vote.

3. If a participating agency provides services to a person with a

disability at the person's place of residence, the agency shall offer

the opportunity to complete a voter registration form at such place of

residence.

4. Each participating agency shall provide to each applicant who does

not decline to register to vote the same degree of assistance with

regard to the completion of the registration application form as is

provided by the agency with regard to the completion of its own form

unless the applicant refuses such assistance.

5. Employees of a voter registration agency who provide voter

registration assistance shall not:

(a) seek to influence an applicant's political preference or party

designation;

(b) display any political preference or party allegiance;

(c) make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose

or effect of which is to discourage the applicant from registering to

vote; or

(d) make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose

or effect of which is to lead the applicant to believe that a decision

to register or not to register has any bearing on the availability of

services or benefits.

6. The state board of elections shall coordinate and monitor the

distribution of voter registration forms by those state agencies,

departments, divisions and offices selected to participate in the

program to maximize the efficient and non partisan distribution of voter

registration information and forms. The board shall also adopt such

rules and regulations as may be necessary to require county boards and

participating agencies to provide the state board with such information

and data as the board deems necessary to assess compliance with this

section and to compile such statistics as may be required by the federal

elections commission.

7. Each participating agency, department, division and office that

makes available voter registration forms shall prominently display

promotional materials designed and approved by the state board of

elections, informing the public of the existence of voter registration

services.

8. Each participating agency, department, division or office that

makes available voter registration forms pursuant to this section shall

offer with each application for the services or assistance of such

agency, department, division or office and with each recertification,

renewal or change of address form relating to such service or

assistance, a registration form together with instructions relating to

eligibility to register and for completing the form except that forms

used by the department of social services for the initial application

for services, renewal or recertification for services and change of

address relating to such services shall physically incorporate a voter

registration application in a fashion that permits the voter

registration portion of the agency form to be detached therefrom. Such

voter registration application shall be designed so as to ensure the

confidentiality of the source of the application. Included on each

participating agency's application for services or assistance or on a

separate form shall be:

(a) the question, "If you are not registered to vote where you live

now, would you like to apply to register here today?"

(b) The statement, "applying to register or declining to register to

vote will not affect the amount of assistance that you will be provided

by this agency."

(c) boxes for the applicant to check to indicate whether the applicant

would like to register or decline to register to vote.

(d) the statement in prominent type, "IF YOU DO NOT CHECK EITHER BOX,

YOU WILL BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE DECIDED NOT TO REGISTER TO VOTE AT THIS

TIME."

(e) the statement, "If you would like help in filling out the voter

registration application form, we will help you. The decision whether to

seek or accept help is yours. You may fill out the application form in

private."

(f) the statement, "If you believe that someone has interfered with

your right to register or decline to register to vote, your right to

privacy in deciding whether to register or in applying to register to

vote, or your right to choose your own political party or other

political preference, you may file a complaint with the state board of

elections (address and toll free telephone number)."

(g) a toll free number at the state board of elections that can be

called for answers to registration questions.

9. Disclosure of voter registration information, including a

declination to register, by a participating agency, its agents or

employees, for other than voter registration purposes, shall be deemed

an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant to the provisions

of subdivision two of section eighty-nine of the public officers law and

shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

10. The form containing the declination to register to vote shall be

retained by the recipient agency for the same period of time as such

agency retains the accompanying application for services or for such

shorter period of time as may be approved by the state board of

elections.

11. The participating agency shall transmit the completed applications

for registration and change of address forms to the appropriate board of

elections not later than ten days after receipt except that all such

completed applications and forms received by the agency after the

twentieth day prior to an election and by the twelfth day before such

election shall be transmitted in such manner and at such time as to

assure their receipt by such board of elections as soon as practicable

and not later than the tenth day before such election.

12. Completed application forms, when received by a participating

agency not later than the twelfth day before the next ensuing primary,

general or special election and transmitted by such agency to the

appropriate board of elections so that they are received by such board

not later than the tenth day before such election shall entitle the

applicant to vote in such election provided the board determines that

the applicant is otherwise qualified.

13. The state board of elections shall provide application forms for

use pursuant to this section except that any agency which uses a form

other than such registration form shall be responsible for providing

such form. Forms which vary in design and or content from the form

approved by the state board of elections may only be used with the

approval of such board.

14. Applications shall be processed by the board of elections in the

manner prescribed by section 5-210 of this title or, if the applicant is

already registered to vote from another address in the county or city,

in the manner prescribed by section 5-208 of this title. The board shall

send the appropriate notice of approval or rejection as required by

either subdivision nine of such section 5-210 or subdivision five of

such section 5-208.

15. The head of each participating agency shall take all actions which

are necessary and proper for the implementation of this section. Each

agency head shall designate one person within the agency as the agency

voter registration coordinator who will, under the direction of the

state board of elections, be responsible for the voter registration

program in such agency.

16. The state board shall develop and distribute public information

and promotional materials relating to the purposes and implementation of

this program.

17. Each agency designated as a participating agency under this

section shall conduct a study and prepare a report to determine the

feasibility, practicality and cost-effectiveness of designing their

agency intake forms to serve also as voter registration forms that

comply with state and federal law. Such study and report shall be

completed by December 1, 1996. Copies of such reports shall be provided

to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of

the assembly and the state board of elections. After submission of the

report, participating agencies that determine that it is feasible,

practical and cost-effective to have such forms also serve as voter

registration forms shall do so upon the approval of the state board of

elections. For each agency that determines it is feasible, practical and

cost effective to use agency intake forms that serve also as voter

registration forms, the state board of elections shall approve or

disapprove such use within six months of the submission of the report by

the agency.

18. (a) (i) On or before January first, two thousand twenty, all

institutions of the state university of New York and the city university

of New York shall create and make available to all students a webpage

for voter education on each such institution's website, containing a

link to an application for voter registration, a link to an application

for an early mail ballot, contact information for the county board of

elections, and the name and contact information for the administrator

responsible for voter registration assistance on each campus.

(ii) Each such institution shall, at the beginning of the school year,

and again in January of a year in which the president of the United

States is to be elected, provide an application for voter registration

and an application for an early mail ballot to each student in each such

institution. Each institution shall be considered in compliance with the

requirements of this subparagraph for each student to whom the

institution electronically transmits a message containing the link to

the webpage for voter education, the link to an application for voter

registration and the link to an application for an early mail ballot, if

such information is in an electronic message devoted exclusively to

voter registration.

(iii) Each such institution shall provide the same degree of

assistance as required of participating agencies.

(b) The state university of New York and the city university of New

York, on behalf of each institution within its system, shall on or

before June first, two thousand twenty, and each subsequent year, submit

a report disaggregated according to each institution to the state board

of elections that includes:

(i) the efforts of the institution to register voters in the preceding

calendar year;

(ii) a date-stamped screen shot of the webpage for voter education

that contains the required information under paragraph (a) of this

subdivision;

(iii) the number of students who were registered for course work in

the preceding twelve months at such institution and the number of clicks

on the links to online voter registration and early mail ballot

applications; and

(iv) any other efforts or recommendations the institution plans to

implement to improve access to voter registration and early mail ballot

voting for students at the institution.

(c) The state board of elections shall make the reports provided

pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision publicly available on its

website.