New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle A - Governor's Office › Chapter I - Executive Orders › Part 4 - Executive Orders (Mario M. Cuomo) › Section 4.104 - Executive order no. 104: establishing a task force on encouraging electoral participation

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
WHEREAS, This year we celebrate the bicentennial of the
					 founding of our Constitution;
WHEREAS, The Constitution assigns a significant role in our
					 representative form of government to the people--that of selecting their public
					 officials through the electoral process;
WHEREAS, Participating in the electoral process is a
					 fundamental right and civic duty that serves as the foundation of our democracy
					 and assures its success as a government of the people, by the people and for
					 the people;
WHEREAS, It is a proper function of government to encourage
					 electoral participation by determining why registered voters fail to vote and
					 why eligible persons fail to register to vote, to eliminate unreasonable
					 obstacles to voting and registration and to create mechanisms that facilitate
					 voting and registration;
WHEREAS, Efforts to encourage New Yorkers to vote and to
					 register have been taken through implementation of the recommendations of the
					 Temporary Commission on Voting Machine Equipment and Voter Registration Systems
					 and through implementing Executive Order No. 43 which facilitated voter
					 registration by mail;
WHEREAS, Despite these efforts, approximately 40 percent of
					 those entitled to register to vote in New York State have failed to register
					 and the low levels of voter turnout experienced in New York State have not
					 improved materially and, accordingly, further efforts are necessary to
					 encourage New Yorkers to register to vote and to vote; and
WHEREAS, The creation of a task force to study citizen
					 participation in the New York State electoral system, examine the factors
					 relating to electoral participation and recommend steps that can be taken to
					 foster greater participation by all citizens in our electoral process will
					 invigorate our democracy and strengthen our governmental system:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mario M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of
					 New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Laws
					 of the State of New York, do hereby order as follows:
I. There is hereby created a Task Force on
				  Encouraging Electoral Participation, to be composed of 18 members appointed by
				  the Governor. The Chairperson of the Task Force shall be selected by the
				  Governor.
II. The Task Force on
				  Encouraging Electoral Participation shall:
(1)
				  determine, through public opinion research techniques, review of existing data
				  and analyses and other means, the reasons why eligible New Yorkers fail to vote
				  or to register and what steps would tend positively to affect public behavior
				  in those regards;
(2) review laws,
				  rules, regulations, programs and procedures in other states and nations which
				  have a high percentage of voter participation in the electoral
				  process;
(3) review laws, rules,
				  regulations, programs and procedures in this State relating to voting and voter
				  registration and recommend amendments thereof or improvements therein that will
				  increase voting and voter registration; and
(4) report its findings and recommendations
				  to the Governor on or before February 15, 1988.
Signed: Mario M. CuomoDated: November 2, 1987
[FN*] [Revoked by Executive Order No. 31 (George E.
					 Pataki), infra.]
[FN[DAGGER]] [Revoked by Executive Order No. 5 (Eliot
					 Spitzer), infra.]
[Revoked by Executive Order No. 9 (David A. Paterson),
					 infra.]
[Revoked by Executive Order No. 2 (Andrew M. Cuomo),
					 infra.]