What's happening
This bill amends the constitution to remove the requirement for personal appearance when registering to vote in New York.
Why it matters
Expands Access. By removing the requirement for in-person voter registration, the amendment could make it easier for more people—such as those with disabilities, limited mobility, or scheduling conflicts—to register to vote.
Enables Modernization. This change allows New York to adopt more flexible and modern registration systems, such as online or mail-in registration, potentially increasing efficiency and reducing administrative burdens.
Potential for Higher Voter Participation. Easing registration barriers can lead to a broader and more inclusive electorate, possibly boosting overall voter turnout and representation.
Aligns with Other States. Many states have already removed or never required personal appearance for registration, so this change helps New York keep pace with national trends toward more accessible voting practices.
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Who cares
Headline styles
End In-Person Voter Registration
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Opinion referred to judiciary
- To attorney-general for opinion
- Referred to judiciary
- Opinion referred to judiciary
- To attorney-general for opinion
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
304
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment to section 6 of article 2 of the constitution, in relation to the personal appearance requirement for voter registration
Section 1. Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That section 6 of article 2 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
§ 6. The legislature may provide by law for a system or systems of registration whereby [upon personal application] a voter may be registered and his or her registration continued so long as he or she shall remain qualified to vote from an address within the jurisdiction of the board with which such voter is registered.
§ 2. Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That the foregoing amendment be referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the next succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be published for three months previous to the time of such election.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD89058-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment to section 6 of article 2 of the constitution, in relation to the personal appearance requirement for voter registration
Purpose of bill
This bill amends the New York State constitution to repeal the require- ment that in order to register to vote a voter make "personal applica- tion". This amendment is necessary in order to pave the way for a voter registration system whereby every citizen, upon a specific occurrence, is registered to vote automatically by the state.
Summary of provisions
Section one of this bill repeals the terms "upon personal application" currently contained within section 6 of article 2 of the state constitu- tion. This provision requires citizens, upon their own personal initi- ative register to vote.
Justification
In March of 2015 Oregon became the first state in the country to create a system of voter registration whereby any Oregon citizen with a valid driver's license is automatically registered to vote. Oregon predicts this initiative will add up to 300,000 new voters to an already engaged electorate of which 52 percent cast ballots in the November 2014 election. In the same election, 28.8 percent of New York State voters cast ballots, tying for the third lowest turnout among states in the nation's lowest voter turnout since 1942.
This constitutional resolution is necessary to pave the way for the state legislature to enact a system of automatic voter registration should it so desire. Should a voter not wish to be registered, he or she can opt out of the system or simply not return the election ballot in the mail since Oregon administers an all mail election system.
Currently, the state constitution requires a voter "upon personal appli- cation" to register himself or herself to vote. The state's voter regis- tration system further outlines in Article 5 of the Election law addi- tional requirements and methods pertaining to voter registration. This constitutional requirement would need to be passed and ratified however, in the event the state wished to move forward with such a system whereby voters were automatically registered.
Legislative history
S.4216 of 2017-2018 (Dilan): Died in Judiciary 2015-2016 S.5125/A.10274: Referred to judiciary
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None to the state.
Effective date
Resolved (if the) concur, that the foregoing amendment be referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the next succeed- ing general election of members of the assembly, and, in conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be published for three months previous to the time of such election.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.