What's happening
This bill changes the voter registration deadline for special town elections from 23 days to 10 days before the election.
Why it matters
Expanding Voter Access. By reducing the registration deadline from 23 to 10 days before a special town election, the bill gives residents more time to register, which can help new movers, young voters, or those previously unaware of an election participate.
Potential for Increased Turnout. Shortening the cutoff could lead to higher voter turnout in special elections, which typically suffer from low participation, by lowering procedural barriers and making the process more responsive to people's schedules.
Administrative Adjustment. Boards of registration and town clerks will need to adjust their processes to handle voter rolls closer to Election Day, which may require updates to workflows and technology, but could also streamline registration with modern capabilities.
Uniformity for Non-Personal Registration. The new subdivision clarifies that if a town does not conduct in-person registration sessions, only those who are registered with the county board of elections 10 days prior can vote, potentially standardizing procedures and reducing confusion about eligibility.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Change Voter Registration Deadline
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Referred to election law
- Referred to election law
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Voter Registration Deadline Changed
In Senate Committee · Local Government · Sponsor David Carlucci
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1489
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 12, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ZEBROWSKI, JAFFEE, GALEF, SKOUFIS, ABINANTI -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BUCHWALD -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to registration to vote
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 84 of the town law, as amended by chapter 281 of the laws of 1998, is amended and a new subdivision 7 is added to read as follows:
5. In order to assist boards of registration in the preparation of their registers, the town clerk, prior to the first meeting of such boards of registration, shall obtain from the board of elections of the county in which such town is located, the list of names and addresses of all voters registered with such board of elections on or before the [twenty-third] tenth day before such special election. The town clerk shall deliver the names and addresses of qualified voters to the appropriate board or boards of registration on or before the first meeting of such board or boards. At the first and subsequent meetings of the board of registration for each voting place designated by the town board for such special town election, such board of registration shall place on the register described in subdivision four hereof the names of all qualified voters and all other qualified voters who personally appear, and those military voters and such other voters who are absent by reason of confining illness or physical disability or whose duties, occupation or business required them to be outside of the state of New York, having the qualifications of voters prescribed in this section and who have made application for absentee ballots as certified to them by the town clerk.
7. In the event a town board does not elect to provide personal registration for a special town election, no person shall be entitled to vote unless they are registered to vote with the board of elections on the tenth day before such election.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01965-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.