N.Y. Election Law § 5-900: Integrated personal voter registration application required

§ 5-900. Integrated personal voter registration application required.

1. In addition to any other method of voter registration provided for by

this chapter, state and local agencies designated in subdivisions

thirteen and fourteen of this section shall provide to the state board

of elections voter registration qualification information associated

with each person who submits an application for services or assistance

at such agency, including a renewal, recertification, or reexamination

transaction at such agency, and each person who submits a change of

address or name form. For the purposes of the department of motor

vehicles, "application for services or assistance at such agency" refers

only to an application for a motor vehicle driver's license, a driver's

license renewal or an identification card if such card is issued by the

department of motor vehicles in its normal course of business. For

purposes of the New York city housing authority "application for

services or assistance at such agency" refers only to applications that

reach an eligibility interview and reexamination transactions. Such

designated agencies shall ensure agency applications substantially

include all of the elements required by section 5-210 of this article,

including the appropriate attestation, so that persons completing such

applications shall be able to also submit an application to register to

vote through the electronic voter registration transmittal system. For

purposes of this section, "agency" shall mean any state or local agency,

department, division, office, institution or other entity designated in

subdivision thirteen of this section or designated by the governor

pursuant to subdivision fourteen of this section. For purposes of this

section, registration shall also include pre-registration pursuant to

section 5-507 of this article.

2. For each application submitted to the agency, whether

electronically or on paper, the agency shall transmit to the state board

of elections through an interface with the electronic voter registration

transmittal system established and maintained by the state board of

elections that portion of the application that includes voter

registration information. The state board of elections shall

electronically forward such application to the applicable board of

elections of each county or the city of New York for filing, processing

and verification consistent with this chapter.

3. An integrated voter registration form submitted to an agency in

paper format shall be transmitted to the state board of elections

through an electronic voter registration transmittal system by

converting the paper form to an image file or a portable document format

file which shall thereafter be deemed the original form for voter

registration and enrollment purposes. The agency shall retain the

complete original paper application for no less than two years. The

transmittal of the converted paper application may include or be

accompanied by data elements and transmittal information as required by

the rules and regulations of the state board of elections.

4. An integrated voter registration application submitted to an agency

in an electronic format shall be transmitted to the state board of

elections through the electronic voter registration transmittal system

and shall include all of the voter registration data elements, including

electronic signature, as applicable, and record of attestation of the

accuracy of the voter registration information and any relevant document

images.

5. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no agency designated

under this section shall transmit to the state board of elections any

application for registration for a person that indicates on the

integrated personal voter registration application that they do not meet

one of the eligibility requirements.

6. The voter registration related portion of each agency's integrated

application for services or assistance shall:

(a) include a statement of the eligibility requirements for voter

registration and shall require the applicant to attest by the

applicant's signature that the applicant meets those requirements under

penalty of perjury and is applying to register or pre-register to vote

unless such applicant declines such registration;

(b) inform the applicant, in print identical to that used in the

attestation section of the following:

(i) voter eligibility requirements;

(ii) penalties for submission of a false registration application;

(iii) that the office where the applicant applies for registration

shall remain confidential and the voter registration information shall

be used only for voter registration purposes;

(iv) that if the applicant applies to register to vote electronically,

such applicant thereby consents to the use of an electronic copy of the

individual's manual signature that is in the custody of the department

of motor vehicles, the state board of elections, or other agency

designated by this section, as the individual's voter registration

exemplar signature if the individual voter's exemplar signature is not

provided with the voter registration application;

(v) if the applicant signs the application and does not check the box

declining to register to vote, such applicant thereby consents to the

use of any information required to complete the voter registration

application;

(vi) if the applicant declines to register, such applicant's

declination shall remain confidential and be used only for voter

registration purposes; and

(vii) that applying to register or declining to register to vote will

not affect the amount of assistance that the applicant will be provided

by this agency;

(c) include a box for the applicant to check to indicate whether the

applicant would like to decline to register to vote along with the

following statement in prominent type, "IF YOU DO NOT CHECK THIS BOX,

AND YOU PROVIDE YOUR SIGNATURE ON THE SPACE BELOW, YOU WILL HAVE APPLIED

TO REGISTER OR PRE-REGISTER TO VOTE, AND YOU WILL HAVE ATTESTED TO YOUR

ELIGIBILITY TO REGISTER OR PRE-REGISTER TO VOTE."

(d) include the following warning statement in prominent type, "IF YOU

ARE NOT A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES, YOU MUST CHECK THE BOX BELOW.

NON-CITIZENS WHO REGISTER OR PRE-REGISTER TO VOTE MAY BE SUBJECT TO

CRIMINAL PENALTIES AND SUCH VOTER REGISTRATION OR PRE-REGISTRATION MAY

RESULT IN DEPORTATION OR REMOVAL, EXCLUSION FROM ADMISSION TO THE UNITED

STATES, OR DENIAL OF NATURALIZATION.";

(e) include a space for the applicant to indicate the applicant's

choice of party enrollment, with a clear alternative provided for the

applicant to decline to affiliate with any party and the following

statement in prominent type " ONLY ENROLLED MEMBERS OF A POLITICAL PARTY

MAY VOTE IN THAT PARTY'S PRIMARIES".

(f) include a statement that if an applicant is a victim of domestic

violence or stalking, the applicant may contact the state board of

elections before or after registering or pre-registering to vote in

order to receive information regarding the address confidentiality

program for victims of domestic violence under section 5-508 of this

article.

7. Information from the voter relevant to both voter registration and

the agency application shall be entered by the voter only once upon an

electronic application.

8. The agency shall redact or remove from the completed integrated

application to be transmitted to the state board of elections any

information solely applicable to the agency application.

9. Information concerning the citizenship status of individuals, when

collected and transmitted pursuant to subdivision one of this section,

shall not be retained, used or shared for any other purpose except as

may be required by law.

10. A voter shall be able to decline to register to vote using an

integrated application by selecting a single check box, or equivalent,

which shall include the following statement: "I DECLINE USE OF THIS FORM

FOR VOTER REGISTRATION AND PRE-REGISTRATION PURPOSES. DO NOT FORWARD MY

INFORMATION TO THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS."

11. The voter shall be able to sign the voter registration application

and the agency application by means of a single manual or electronic

signature unless the agency requires more than one signature for other

agency purposes.

12. No application for voter registration shall be submitted if the

applicant declines registration or fails to sign the integrated

application, whether on paper or online.

13. Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-three, designated

agencies for purposes of this section shall include the department of

motor vehicles. Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-four,

designated agencies for the purposes of this section shall also include

the department of health, the office of temporary and disability

assistance, the department of labor, the office of adult career and

continuing education services - vocational rehabilitation, county and

city departments of social services, and the New York city housing

authority, as well as any other agency designated by the governor.

Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-five, designated agencies

for the purposes of this section shall also include the state university

of New York. Each designated agency shall enter into an agreement with

the state board of elections finalizing the format and content of

electronic transmissions required by this section. The state board of

elections shall prepare and distribute to designated agencies written

instructions as to the implementation of the program and shall be

responsible for establishing training programs for employees of

designated agencies listed in this section. Such instructions and such

training shall ensure usability of the integrated application for low

English proficiency voters. Any such designated agency shall take all

actions that are necessary and proper for the implementation of this

section, including facilitating technological capabilities to allow

transmission of data through an interface with the electronic voter

registration transmittal system in a secure manner.

14. Every other year, the governor shall conduct a review of each

participating agency under section 5-211 of this article not already

designated as an automatic voter registration agency pursuant to this

subdivision in order to determine whether designation is appropriate.

The governor shall designate each participating agency that collects

information or documents that would provide proof of eligibility to vote

unless the governor determines that there are compelling reasons why

automatic voter registration is not feasible at the agency. If the

governor should determine that there are compelling reasons why

automatic voter registration is not feasible at an agency, the governor

shall prepare a report explaining those reasons to the legislature by

the end of the calendar year in which that determination is made. Any

agency designated by the governor pursuant to this subdivision shall

provide automatic voter registration upon the earlier occurrence of: (a)

two years after designation by the governor, or (b) five days after the

date of certification by the state board of elections that the

information technology infrastructure to substantially implement the

provisions of this section at the agency is functional.

15. The state board of elections shall promulgate rules and

regulations for the creation and administration of an integrated

electronic voter registration process as provided for by this section.

16. Each participating agency shall provide an opportunity through

rulemaking for public notice and comment regarding the plans for

implementation in the agency. Such opportunity must be provided

sufficiently in advance of implementation to allow for adjustment of

agency plans to take public comment into account. Agency plans for

implementation shall provide for sufficient testing of the process in

the agency prior to implementation in order to ensure the technology is

functioning properly, the process is usable and understandable for

applicants and agency employees, and reasonable precautions have been

put in place to minimize error or the possibility of discouraging

applications for services, assistance, or registration.