NY Elec L § 5-211 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ELN - Election Article 5 - Registration and Enrollment of Voters Title 2 - Registration and Enrollment 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,  division  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  alcoholism  and substance  abuse  services,  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  between  the thirtieth  and  twenty-fifth day before an election shall be transmitted in such manner and at such time as to assure their receipt by such board of elections not later than the twentieth day before such election.   12. Completed application forms,  when  received  by  a  participating agency  not  later  than  the  twenty-fifth  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  twentieth  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 absentee 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 absentee 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 absentee  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  absentee  ballot applications; and  (iv) any other efforts or recommendations  the  institution  plans  to implement  to  improve  access to voter registration and absentee 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.