Bill Text: NY A03986 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the registration status of voters; establishes additional requirements for the cancellation of a voter's registration and allows voters who have an inactive status to have their registration returned to active status and to have their vote counted for the election in which they vote.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-30 - enacting clause stricken [A03986 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A03986-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3986
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 30, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. SEPULVEDA, THIELE, BICHOTTE -- Multi-Sponsored by
          --  M.  of  A.   HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on
          Election Law
        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the registration status
          of voters
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 17-106 of the election law, as amended by chapter 9
     2  of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  17-106.  Misconduct  of election officers. Any election officer who
     4  wilfully refuses to accord to any duly  accredited  watcher  or  to  any
     5  voter  or  candidate  any right given him by this chapter, including the
     6  cancellation of a voter's registration in violation of section 5-400  of
     7  this  chapter  or  the  refusal to allow an individual to vote due to an
     8  inactive status in violation of section 5-213 of this  chapter,  or  who
     9  wilfully  violates  any  provision  of  the election law relative to the
    10  registration of electors or to the taking, recording, counting, canvass-
    11  ing, tallying or certifying  of  votes,  or  who  wilfully  neglects  or
    12  refuses  to  perform any duty imposed on him by law, or is guilty of any
    13  fraud in the execution of the duties of his office, or connives  in  any
    14  electoral fraud, or knowingly permits any such fraud to be practiced, is
    15  guilty of a felony.
    16    § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 5-400 of the election law, as amended by
    17  chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
    18    1.  A  voter's registration[, including the registration of a voter in
    19  inactive status,] shall be cancelled if[,]: (a) since the  time  of  his
    20  last registration, he:
    21    [(a)]  (i)  Moved his residence outside the city or county in which he
    22  is registered[.];
    23    [(b)] (ii) Was convicted of a felony  disqualifying  him  from  voting
    24  pursuant to the provisions of section 5-106 of this article[.];
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07371-01-7
        A. 3986                             2
     1    [(c)] (iii) Has been adjudicated an incompetent[.];
     2    [(d)] (iv) Refused to take a challenge oath[.];
     3    [(e)] (v) Has died[.];
     4    [(f)  Did not vote in any election conducted by the board of elections
     5  during the period ending with  the  second  general  election  at  which
     6  candidates  for  federal  office  are  on  the ballot after his name was
     7  placed in inactive status and for whom the board of elections  did  not,
     8  during  such period, in any other way, receive any information that such
     9  voter still resides in the same county or city.
    10    (g)] (vi) Personally requested to have his name removed from the  list
    11  of registered voters[.];
    12    [(h)]  (vii)  For  any other reason, is no longer qualified to vote as
    13  provided in this chapter[.]; and
    14    (b) the board of elections verifies  that  one  of  the  circumstances
    15  provided for in paragraph (a) of this subdivision has occurred.
    16    §  3.  Subdivisions  2  and 3 of section 5-213 of the election law, as
    17  amended by chapter 200 of the laws of  1996,  are  amended  to  read  as
    18  follows:
    19    2.  The  registration poll records of all such voters shall be removed
    20  from the poll ledgers and [maintained at] compiled by the offices of the
    21  board of elections [in a file arranged alphabetically by] and placed  in
    22  an  inactive  poll  ledger  to  be distributed to each election district
    23  within a county.   If such board uses  computer  generated  registration
    24  lists,  the  names  of  such voters shall not be placed on such lists at
    25  subsequent  elections  other  than  lists  prepared  pursuant   to   the
    26  provisions  of  section  5-612  of  this article but shall be [kept as a
    27  computer record at the offices of such board] compiled by the offices of
    28  the board of elections and placed in  an  inactive  poll  ledger  to  be
    29  distributed to each election district within a county.
    30    3.  The  board of elections shall restore the registration of any such
    31  voter to active status if such voter notifies  the  board  of  elections
    32  that he resides at the address from which he is registered, or the board
    33  finds  that  such  voter  has validly signed a designating or nominating
    34  petition which states that he resides at such address, or if such  voter
    35  casts  a ballot in an affidavit envelope which states that he resides at
    36  such address, or if the board receives notice that such voter has  voted
    37  in  an  election  conducted with registration lists prepared pursuant to
    38  the provisions of section 5-612 of this article.  If such voter casts  a
    39  ballot in an affidavit envelope and such ballot meets all other require-
    40  ments  of  this  chapter,  such voter's name shall be restored to active
    41  status for such election and  such  ballot  shall  be  counted  for  the
    42  election  in  which it was cast. If any such notification or information
    43  is received twenty days or more before a  primary,  special  or  general
    44  election,  the  voter's  name must be restored to active status for such
    45  election.
    46    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.