§ 5-210 — Registration and enrollment and change of enrollment upon application

New York § 5-210

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law ELN: Election
• Title 2: Registration and Enrollment
• Art. 5: Registration and Enrollment of Voters

Text

§ 5-210. Registration and enrollment and change of enrollment upon\napplication. 1. In addition to local registration and veterans' absentee\nregistration as provided in this chapter, any qualified person may apply\npersonally for registration and enrollment, change of enrollment by mail\nor by appearing at the board of elections on any day, except a day of\nelection, during the hours that such board of elections is open for\nbusiness.\n 2. (a) Application forms for use pursuant to this section shall be\nfurnished by a county board of elections to any person requesting such\nform. Application forms sent outside of the United States to a country\nother than Canada or Mexico, shall be sent airmail. Each county board of\nelections shall also cause such application forms to be as widely and\nfreely distributed as possible.\n (b) The board of elections shall mail an application for registration\nby mail and information on how the person may re-register to each person\nfor whom it receives notice pursuant to the provisions of subdivision\nfour of section 5-402 of this article that such person has moved into\nsuch city or county unless such person is already registered from the\naddress listed in such notice.\n 3. Completed application forms, when received by any board of\nelections and, with respect to application forms promulgated by the\nfederal election commission, when received by the state board of\nelections, or showing a dated cancellation mark of the United States\nPostal Service or contained in an envelope showing such a dated\ncancellation mark which is not later than the fifteenth day before the\nnext ensuing primary, general or special election, and received no later\nthan the tenth day before such election, or delivered in person to such\nboard of elections not later than the tenth day before such election,\nshall entitle the applicant to vote in such election and to have the\napplicant's vote canvassed in accordance with this chapter, if the\napplicant is otherwise qualified, provided, however, such applicant\nshall not vote on a voting machine until their identity is verified. Any\nboard of elections receiving an application form from a person who does\nnot reside in its jurisdiction but who does reside elsewhere in the\nstate of New York, shall electronically forward such application form to\nthe proper board of elections on the same day it is received. Each board\nof elections shall make an entry on each such form of the date it is\nreceived by such board.\n 4. Any qualified person who has been honorably discharged from the\nmilitary after the twenty-fifth day before a general election, or who\nhas a qualifying condition, as defined in section one of the veterans'\nservices law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or\ndishonorable from the military after the twenty-fifth day before a\ngeneral election, or who is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in\nsection one of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge\nother than bad conduct or dishonorable from the military after the\ntwenty-fifth day before a general election, or who has become a\nnaturalized citizen after the twenty-fifth day before a general election\nmay personally register at the board of elections in the county of their\nresidence and vote in the general election held at least ten days after\nsuch registration.\n 5. Statewide application forms shall be designed by the state board of\nelections, which shall conform to the requirements for the national\nvoter registration form in the rules and regulations promulgated by the\nfederal election commission and the federal Help America Vote Act, and\nshall elicit the information required for the registration poll record.\nThe form shall include such other information as the state board of\nelections may reasonably require to enable the board of elections to\nassess the eligibility of the applicant and to administer voter\nregistration and other parts of the election process and shall also\ninclude the following information:\n (a) Notice that those voters currently registered do not need to\nreregister unless they have moved outside of the city or county in which\nthey were registered.\n (b) Instructions on how to fill out and submit the form and that the\nform must be received by any county board of elections at least ten days\nprior to the election at which the applicant may vote, and if mailed,\nmust be postmarked at least fifteen days prior to the election at which\nthe applicant may vote.\n (c) Notice that registration and enrollment is not complete until the\nform is received by the appropriate county board of elections.\n (d) Notice of a voter's right to register locally.\n (e) A warning that it is a crime to procure a false registration or to\nfurnish false information to the board of elections.\n (f) Notice that political party enrollment is optional but that, in\norder to vote in a primary election of a political party, a voter must\nenroll in that political party, unless state party rules allow\notherwise.\n (g) Notice that the applicant must be a citizen of the United States,\nis at least sixteen years old when they submit an application to\nregister to vote which will be effective for elections occurring on or\nafter the applicant turns eighteen years of age and a resident of the\ncounty or city to which application is made.\n (h) Notice that a voter notification form will be mailed to each\napplicant whose completed form is received.\n (i) The telephone number of the county board of elections and a toll\nfree number at the state board of elections that can be called for\nanswers to registration questions.\n (j) A space for the applicant to indicate whether or not the voter is\nwilling to serve on election day for a board of elections as an election\ninspector, poll clerk, interpreter or in other capacities.\n (k) The form shall also include space for the following information,\nwhich must be contained on the inside of the form after it is folded for\nmailing:\n (i) A space for the applicant to indicate whether or not they have\never voted or registered to vote before and, if so, the approximate year\nin which such applicant last voted or registered and their name and\naddress at the time.\n (ii) The name and residence address of the applicant including the zip\ncode and apartment number, if any.\n (iii) A space for the furnishing of an e-mail address, the furnishing\nof which shall be optional, together with a notice stating that if an\ne-mail address is furnished, all notices and communications otherwise\nrequired to be sent by the state board of elections to the voter by\npostal mail shall be sent by e-mail in addition to postal mail. County\nboards of elections and the board of elections of the city of New York\nshall have the option of sending notices and communications otherwise\nrequired to be sent to the voter by postal mail by e-mail in addition to\npostal mail if the voter furnishes an email address.\n (iv) The date of birth of the applicant.\n (v) A space for the applicant to indicate their driver's license or\ndepartment of motor vehicles non-driver photo ID number or the last four\ndigits of their social security number or, if the applicant does not\nhave either such number, a space for the applicant to indicate they do\nnot have either.\n (vi) A space for the applicant to indicate whether or not they are a\ncitizen of the United States and the statement "If you checked "no" in\nresponse to this question, do not complete this form."\n (vii) A space for the applicant to answer the question "Will you be 18\nyears of age on or before election day?" and the statement "If you\nchecked "no" in response to this question, do not complete this form\nunless you will be 18 by the end of the year."\n (viii) A statement informing the applicant that if the form is\nsubmitted by mail and the applicant is registering for the first time,\ncertain information or documents must be submitted with the mail-in\nregistration form in order to avoid additional identification\nrequirements upon voting for the first time. Such information and\ndocuments are:\n (A) a driver's license or department of motor vehicles non-driver\nphoto ID number; or\n (B) the last four digits of the individual's social security number;\nor\n (C) a copy of a current and valid photo identification; or\n (D) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government\ncheck, paycheck or other government document that shows the name and\naddress of the voter.\n (ix) The gender of the applicant (optional).\n (x) A space for the applicant to indicate their choice of party\nenrollment, with a clear alternative provided for the applicant to\ndecline to affiliate with any party.\n (xi) The telephone number of the applicant (optional).\n (xii) A place for the applicant to execute the form on a line which is\nclearly labeled "signature of applicant" preceded by the following\nspecific form of affirmation:\n AFFIDAVIT: I swear or affirm that:\n * I am a citizen of the United States.\n * I will have lived in the county, city, or village for at least 30\n days before the election.\n * I meet all the requirements to register to vote in New York\n State.\n * This is my signature or mark on the line below.\n * All the information contained on this application is true. I\n understand that if it is not true I can be convicted and fined up\n to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to four years.\nwhich form of affirmation shall be followed by a space for the date and\nthe aforementioned line for the applicant's signature.\n (xiii) A space for the applicant to register in the New York state\ndonate life registry for organ and tissue donations established pursuant\nto section forty-three hundred ten of the public health law.\n (l) The mail voter registration application form developed by the\nfederal election commission pursuant to the provisions of section nine\nof the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 42 USC 1973gg-7 shall be\ndeemed to meet the requirements of this section. Any application for\nregistration received on such an application form shall be accepted if\nthe applicant is otherwise eligible to register to vote pursuant to the\nprovisions of this article. A voter whose registration is accepted\npursuant to the provisions of this paragraph shall be permitted to\nfurnish an e-mail address to the board of elections, which furnishing\nshall carry the same notice and have the same effect as provided by\nsubparagraph (iii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision.\n (m) The form of affidavit prescribed by the state board of elections\nfor requests for affidavit ballot pursuant to subdivision three of\nsection 8-302 of this chapter shall be deemed to meet the requirements\nof this section. Any application for registration received on the form\nof affidavit shall be accepted if the applicant is otherwise eligible to\nregister to vote pursuant to the provisions of this article, however the\nfailure to complete the voter registration application appearing on such\naffidavit envelope shall not otherwise invalidate the affidavit ballot.\n 6. A person who willfully makes a material false statement in any\napplication for registration and enrollment and/or transfer of\nregistration and enrollment or special enrollment by mail, or who\nknowingly makes a false affirmation, or who offers or attempts to offer\nany application for registration and enrollment or transfer of\nregistration and enrollment or special enrollment knowing that the\napplicant is not qualified to register or enroll, or transfer their\nregistration and enrollment or to specially enroll, shall be guilty of a\nclass E felony.\n 7. Each county board of elections shall deliver a sufficient number of\nsuch uniform statewide application forms to each local post office\nwithin its county and keep such post office so supplied, with the\nrequest that the postmaster thereof make them available to the public\nfor its use in participating in the electoral process.\n 8. Upon its receipt by the county board of elections, each application\nform shall be reviewed and examined by such board. If the application\nshall contain substantially all the required information indicating that\nthe applicant is legally qualified to register and/or enroll as stated\nin their application, the county board of elections shall transfer all\ninformation on such application to the appropriate registration records.\nIf requested by any member of the board, the application form of any\nvoter, or group of voters, must be reviewed and examined by two such\nboard members or two employees of the board representing different\npolitical parties. Such members or employees shall place their initials\nor other identifying information on the registration poll record of such\nvoter or on a computer generated list of such registrations. Such lists\nshall be preserved in the same manner, and for the same time, as such\nregistration poll records. If the application indicates that the voter\ndoes not have a driver's license or department of motor vehicles\nnon-driver photo ID number or a social security number, the state board\nof elections shall, upon the transmission of voter information to the\nstatewide voter registration list as required by section 5-614 of this\narticle, assign such voter a unique identifier.\n 9. The county board of elections shall, as soon as practicable and in\nany event, not later than seven days after receipt by it of the\napplication, verify the identity of the applicant. In order to do so,\nthe county board of elections shall utilize the information provided in\nthe application and shall attempt to verify such information with the\ninformation provided by the department of motor vehicles, social\nsecurity administration and any other lawful available information\nsource. If the county board of elections is unable to verify the\nidentity of the applicant within seven days of the receipt of the\napplication, it shall immediately take steps to confirm that the\ninformation provided by the applicant was accurately utilized by such\ncounty board of elections, was accurately verified with other\ninformation sources and that no data entry error, or other similar type\nof error, occurred. Following completion of the preceding steps, the\ncounty board of elections shall mail (a) a notice of its approval, (b) a\nnotice of its approval which includes an indication that such board has\nnot yet been able to verify the identity of the applicant and a request\nfor more information so that such verification may be completed, or (c)\na notice of its rejection of the application to the applicant in a form\napproved by the state board of elections. Notices of approval, notices\nof approval with requests for more information or notices of rejection\nshall be sent by nonforwardable first class or return postage guaranteed\nmail on which is endorsed such language designated by the state board of\nelections to ensure postal authorities do not forward such mail but\nreturn it to the board of elections with forwarding information, when it\ncannot be delivered as addressed and which contains a request that any\nsuch mail received for persons not residing at the address be dropped\nback in the mail. The voter's registration and enrollment shall be\ncomplete upon receipt of the application by the appropriate county board\nof elections. The failure of a county board of elections to verify an\napplicant's identity shall not be the basis for the rejection of a\nvoter's application, provided, however, that such verification failure\nshall be the basis for requiring county board of elections to take the\nadditional verification steps provided by this chapter. The notice shall\nalso advise the registrant of the date when their registration and\nenrollment is effective, of the date and the hours of the next regularly\nscheduled primary or general election in which such registrant will be\neligible to vote, of the location of the polling place of the election\ndistrict in which such registrant is or will be a qualified voter,\nwhether such polling place is accessible to physically handicapped\nvoters, an indication that any registered voter may vote early by mail\nand information on how to obtain an early mail ballot, that physically\nhandicapped voters or voters who are ill or voters who will be out of\nthe city or county on the day of the primary or general election, may\nobtain an absentee ballot and the phone number to call for absentee\nballot applications, the phone numbers to call for location of polling\nplaces, to obtain registration forms and the phone number to call to\nindicate that the voter is willing to serve on election day as an\ninspector, poll clerk or interpreter. The notice of approval, notice of\napproval with request for more information or notice of rejection shall\nalso advise the applicant to notify the board of elections if there is\nany inaccuracy. The form of such mail notification shall be prescribed\nby the state board of elections and shall contain such other information\nand instructions as it may reasonably require to carry out the purposes\nof this section. The request for more information shall inform the voter\nthat "THE FAILURE TO CONTACT THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND CORRECT ANY\nINACCURACIES IN THE APPLICATION OR PROVIDE REQUESTED ADDITIONAL\nINFORMATION MAY RESULT IN A REQUEST FOR IDENTIFICATION AT THE POLLS IN\nORDER TO CAST A VOTE ON A VOTING MACHINE." If such notice is returned\nundelivered without a new address, the board shall forthwith send such\napplicant a confirmation notice pursuant to the provisions of section\n5-712 of this article and place such applicant in inactive status. The\nstate board of elections shall prepare uniform notices by this section\nas provided for in subdivision eight of section 3-102 of this chapter.\n 10. If the board of elections has been unable to verify the identity\nof the applicant within forty-five days of the application, the board\nshall mail a second request for more information to the applicant. This\nnotice shall inform the voter that "THE FAILURE TO CONTACT THE BOARD OF\nELECTIONS AND CORRECT ANY INACCURACIES IN THE APPLICATION OR PROVIDE\nREQUESTED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY RESULT IN A REQUEST FOR\nIDENTIFICATION AT THE POLLS IN ORDER TO CAST A VOTE ON A VOTING\nMACHINE." If the board of elections remains unable to verify the\nidentity of the voter it shall so indicate with a notation next to the\nvoter's name in the registration list. Such a voter may provide\ninformation to assist the county board to verify their identity at any\ntime and such notation shall be removed by the board of elections upon\nsuch verification.\n 11. If the county board of elections suspects or believes that for any\nreason the applicant is not entitled to registration and enrollment, it\nshall make inquiry in reference thereto. If the board of elections shall\nfind that the applicant is not qualified to register and enroll, the\napplication shall be rejected and the applicant notified of such\nrejection and the reason therefor, no later than seven days before the\nday of the first primary or general election occurring at least ten days\nafter the filing of the application.\n 12. Whenever the county board of elections is not satisfied from an\nexamination of an application for registration and enrollment, or after\nits initial inquiry, that the applicant is entitled to such registration\nor enrollment, it may order an investigation through any officer or\nemployee of the state or county board of elections, police officer,\nsheriff or deputy sheriff.\n 13. An affidavit or a signed statement by any officer or employee of\nthe state or county board of elections or any police officer, sheriff or\ndeputy sheriff, that such person visited the premises claimed by the\napplicant as their residence and interrogated an incarcerated\nindividual, house-dweller, keeper, caretaker, owner, proprietor or\nlandlord thereof or therein as to such applicant's residence therein or\nthereat, and that they were informed by one or more such persons, naming\nthem, that they knew the persons residing upon such premises and that\nthe applicant did not reside upon such premises as set forth in their\napplication, shall be sufficient authority for a determination by the\nboard that the applicant is not entitled to registration or enrollment;\nbut this provision shall not preclude the board from making such other\ndetermination, as the result of other inquiry, as it may deem\nappropriate.\n 14. Notwithstanding the entry by the county board of elections on the\nregistration poll record of the information contained on an application\nform prescribed by this section, such entry shall not preclude the\ncounty board of elections from subsequently rejecting the application if\nit is not satisfied that the applicant is entitled to register and\nenroll as provided by this section, provided that the applicant is\nnotified of such rejection and reasons therefor no later than seven days\nbefore the day of the first primary or general election occurring at\nleast ten days after the filing of such application form.\n 15. a. The county board of elections shall keep a record of\napplications for registration as they are received and at least once\neach month, shall, upon request of the chairman of a political party in\nthe county, give such chairman a complete list of the persons whose\napplications were approved together with their addresses and telephone\nnumbers, and their election and assembly districts or wards, if any.\n b. Not more than four times a year, on dates determined by the state\nboard of elections, the county board of elections shall send to the\nchairman of each political party in the county a complete list of the\npersons whose applications were approved together with their addresses,\ntheir election and assembly districts or wards, if any, their party\nenrollments and an indication of whether such persons are eligible to\nvote in the primary elections to be held in that calendar year. Not more\nthan twice a year, in even numbered years, on dates determined by the\nstate board of elections, the county board of elections shall send a\ncopy of such list to the state board of elections. In counties of over\none hundred thousand population, each such list shall be, and in other\ncounties each such list may be, cumulative and include the names of all\nsuch persons whose names do not appear in the annual enrollment lists\nlast published by such board of elections, together with an indication\nof which such names did not appear on the previous list. Such lists may\nalso include the names of those persons whose names do appear in the\nannual enrollment lists. Such lists shall be arranged in the same manner\nas the annual enrollment lists. Additional copies of such lists shall be\navailable to the public at a charge not exceeding the cost of\npublication or reproduction.\n