NY Elec L § 5-900 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ELN - Election Article 5 - Registration and Enrollment of Voters Title 9 - Automatic Voter Registration 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.   * NB Effective January 1, 2023