BILL NUMBER: S1733

SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a school
voter registration access program

 
PURPOSE:

To implement procedures pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Laws of 2019
regarding voter registration and pre-registration for eligible high
school students in New York State.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Establishes a new Article 25 entitled the School Voter Regis-
tration Access Program in education law requiring school districts,
boards of cooperative educational services, charter schools, and nonpub-
lic schools to adopt a policy to promote student voter registration and
preregistration pursuant to chapter 2 of the laws of 2019 for students
in grades ten, eleven and twelve. The policy shall include procedures
              

for acquiring and transmitting voter applications to and from the local
board of elections and dissemination among their appropriate schools,
methods of regular communication with eligible students about the avail-
ability of the applications and their right to register to vote. The
policy may include collaboration with local boards of elections and
outside organizations to assist in making voter registration and pre-re-
gistration applications available.

This section further stipulates that completion and submission of voter
registration and pre-registration forms is not a course requirement or
graded assignment for students and that local election boards must
comply with requests for applications.

Section 2 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In recent years, there has been national alarm at our very low rates of
voter registration and participation. It is essential that we connect
citizens to the electoral process at a young age to educate and inform
them of the importance of participating in the voting process and that
we instill in them, at a young age, the notion that their voice matters
in the political process and in shaping society. Academic literature has
highlighted low voting participation rates among young citizens. We can
increase the potential for qualified voters to exercise their right to
vote and become engaged in lifelong civic responsibility; by providing
access to registering and pre-registering to vote in schools.

Schools have a responsibility to prepare students to be active citizens
and are uniquely situated to ensure that all students have the
oppor6nity to register to vote and to participate in the electoral proc-
ess. Too often these opportunities are not broad enough in scope to
reach all students.

In adopting a school voter registration and pre-registration access
program for students in grades 10, 11, and 12, we can improve the chanc-
es of greater participation in the voting process and promote long-term
engagement for civic responsibility and participation.  Chapter 2 of the
Laws of 2019 expressly authorized pre-registration of 16 and 17-year
olds as part of an effort to encourage voting at age 18. This bill
provides the framework to ensure all schools with students of those ages
provide the opportunity for students to register to vote.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021/22: S912-A (Mayer) / A5829-A (Wallace): passed Senate (2021);
passed Senate (2022)

2019/20: S5073-A (Mayer) / A8717 (Buchwald): passed Senate (2019);
passed Senate (2020)

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect the first of July next succeeding the date on
which it shall have become a law.