Relates to the registration status of voters

Title of bill

An act to amend the election law, in relation to the registration status of voters

Purpose or general idea of bill

This purpose of this bill is to prevent the disenfranchisement of voters through hurdles such as registration cancellation.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1. Makes misconduct of an election official a felony. It also establishes the conditions under which an individual is allowed to be unregistered by the board of election under the new election law.

Section 2. Indicates that their shall be an inactive poll ledger at every county.

Section 3. Indicates that if an inactive voter cast an affidavit ballot that met all the requirements than it shall restore voter registration and the ballot shall count.

Justification

On Tuesday, April 19, thousands of New Yorkers cried foul about how the city was running the state's most consequential presidential primary elections in decades. Polling sites opened late. Ballot scanners failed. About 125,000 Democratic voters were purged from the Brooklyn rolls while others found their party affiliation had inexplicably changed.

Under current policies voters who chose not to vote get penalize by being characterized as inactive. Their inactive status currently disqualifies them from voting if they do not re-register. This law would remove this unnecessary step by creating an inactive poll ledger that would serve as the list for all voters whose vote could be counted through an affidavit ballot. This law would also make it a felony for voter registration to be cancelled. This law would allow us to hold our election officials accountable for maintaining government integrity.

In the previous New York State primary, many voters felt disenfranchised and left out of the political process. Voting is particularly hard to do in New York where we have laws that add unnecessary steps to the process of become an eligible voter. This law would give the voters back the power they deserve by creating a mechanism through which to have same day Affidavit votes facilitate voter registration. This would open up participation to many voters by making a statement that your vote matters and will be counted. Fair elections are a fundamental principle of democracy, if this type of violation occurred in a foreign nation the United States leaders would call for United Nation monitors to be assigned to future elections. It is our duty as elected officials to hold ourselves to the same, if not, higher standard than we do our colleagues overseas.

Prior legislative history

New Bill.

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.