Bill Text: NJ A1126 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits voter registration of certain persons at age 17 for voting at next election occurring on or after 18th birthday.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State Government Committee [A1126 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A1126-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANGEL FUENTES
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman PAUL D. MORIARTY
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman LINDA STENDER
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
Assemblyman GILBERT "WHIP" L. WILSON
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen McKeon, Diegnan, Schaer, Caputo, Assemblywoman Wagner, Assemblymen Wisniewski, Giblin and Prieto
SYNOPSIS
Permits voter registration of certain persons at age 17 for voting at next election occurring on or after 18th birthday.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning voter registration and amending R.S.19:31-5.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.19:31-5 is amended to read as follows:
19:31-5. Each person, who is at least 17 years of age at the time he or she applies for registration, who resides in the district in which he or she expects to vote, who will be of the age of 18 years or more [at the next ensuing] on or before the first election in which he or she expects to vote, who is a citizen of the United States, and who, if he or she continues to reside in the district until [the next] that election, will at the time have fulfilled all the requirements as to length of residence to qualify him or her as a legal voter, shall, unless otherwise disqualified, be entitled to be registered in such district.
Whenever an individual registers by mail after January 1, 2003 to vote for the first time in his or her current county of residence, that individual shall provide either the individual's New Jersey driver's license number or the last four digits of the individual's Social Security Number, or shall submit with the voter registration form a copy of: (1) a current and valid photo identification card; (2) a current utility bill, bank statement, government check or pay check; (3) any other government document that shows the individual's name and current address; or (4) any other identifying document that the Attorney General has determined to be acceptable for this purpose. If the individual does not provide his or her New Jersey driver's license number or Social Security Number information or submit a copy of any one of these documents, either at the time of registration or at any time thereafter prior to attempting to vote, the individual shall be asked for identification when voting for the first time starting at the first election held after January 1, 2004 at which candidates are seeking federal office or thereafter. This requirement shall not apply to any individual entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act" (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1 et seq.) or to any individual who is provided the right to vote other than in person under section 3 of Pub.L.98-435, the "Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act," or any other voter entitled to vote otherwise than in person under any other federal law. This requirement shall also not apply to any individual who registers to vote by appearing in person at any voter registration agency or to any individual whose voter registration form is delivered to the county commissioner of registration or to the Attorney General, as the case may be, through a third party by means other than by mail delivery.
Once registered, the registrant shall not be required to register again in such district as long as he or she resides therein, except when required to do so by the commissioner, because of the loss of or some defect in his or her registration record.
The registrant, when registered as provided in this Title, shall be eligible to vote at any election to be held subsequent to such registration, if he or she shall be a citizen of the United States of the age of 18 years and shall have been a resident of the State for at least 30 days and of the county at least 30 days, when the same is held, subject to any change in his qualifications which may later disqualify him. No registrant shall lose the right to vote, and no registrant's name shall be removed from the registry list of the county in which the person is registered, solely on grounds of the person's failure to vote in one or more elections.
(cf: P.L.2004, c.88, s.10)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Under current law, a person who at the time he or she applies to register to vote resides in the district in which he or she expects to vote, and who will be 18 years old or more at the next ensuing election, is permitted to register to vote, provided the person: (1) is a citizen of the United States; (2) continues to reside in the district until the next election; and (3) will, at the time of the election, have fulfilled all the requirements as to length of residence to qualify him or her as a legal voter. This bill clarifies that a person who is 17 years of age will be able to register to vote, and may vote at the next election occurring on or after the person's 18th birthday.
