Bill Text: NY A08717 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes a school voter registration access program to promote student voter registration and pre-registration.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to education [A08717 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A08717-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8717

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    October 23, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. BUCHWALD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Education

        AN  ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a school
          voter registration access program

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 25 to
     2  read as follows:
     3                                  ARTICLE 25
     4                      SCHOOL VOTER REGISTRATION ACCESS
     5  Section 1301. School voter registration access.
     6    § 1301. School voter registration access. Each school district,  board
     7  of  cooperative  educational  services,  charter  school, and non-public
     8  school shall adopt a policy to promote student  voter  registration  and
     9  pre-registration  pursuant  to  chapter  two of the laws of two thousand
    10  nineteen. Such policy shall, in accordance with the provisions  of  this
    11  article,  require  all schools operated by such school districts, boards
    12  of cooperative educational services,  charter  schools,  and  non-public
    13  schools  serving  any  or  all of grades ten, eleven, and twelve to make
    14  available access to voter registration and pre-registration applications
    15  during the school year for the purposes of educating students about  the
    16  voting  enrollment  process  and  providing  eligible  students with the
    17  opportunity to register or pre-register  to  vote  as  applicable.  Such
    18  policy  shall  include  procedures  for acquiring and transmitting voter
    19  registration and pre-registration applications to  and  from  the  local
    20  board  of  elections  and dissemination among their appropriate schools,
    21  methods of regular communication with eligible students  on  the  avail-
    22  ability of such applications and their right to register or pre-register
    23  to vote and may include collaboration with local boards of elections and
    24  outside  organizations  to assist in making available voter registration
    25  and pre-registration applications in any school serving any  or  all  of

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09318-12-9
        A. 8717                             2

     1  grades  ten,  eleven,  and  twelve.  Completion  and submission of voter
     2  registration or pre-registration forms shall not be a course requirement
     3  or graded assignment for students.   Local  boards  of  elections  shall
     4  comply with requests from school districts, boards of cooperative educa-
     5  tional services, charter schools, and non-public schools to transmit the
     6  requested  number  of  registration and pre-registration applications in
     7  such manner as requested.
     8    § 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.   Effective  immediately
     9  the  addition,  amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
    10  sary for the implementation of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are
    11  authorized to be made on or before such date.