NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9676

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 17, 2024	referred to elections

co-Sponsors

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §5-211, El L

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "student voter empowerment act"; requires each institution of the state university of New York and the city university of New York to designate a staff member to act as a student voting coordinator; requires such coordinator to develop and implement a student voting action plan to increase student voter registration and voting and democratic participation among students.

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9676

SPONSOR: WEBB
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to enacting the "student
voter empowerment act"

 
PURPOSE:

Enacts the student voter empowerment act to expand civic engagement
among public college students.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 includes the title as the student voter empowerment act.

Section 2 amends subdivision 18 of section 5-211 of the election law to
require all public colleges and universities to provide additional
information on polling places on websites and requires that each public
college or university designate a staff member to serve as a student
voting coordinator. The coordinator's goal is to develop an action plan

and to hold outreach events in an election cycle.

Section 3 amends section 17-208 of the election law to include "resi-
dents of college or university" for the provision assistance for
language-minority groups.

Section 4 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

During the 2022 midterm elections, 23% of eligible voters ages 18 to 29
turned out to vote across the country, making it the second-highest
youth turnout in over three decades. New York's youth turnout rate has
improved in recent elections but still falls behind the national average
with only 20.7% of young voters turning out to vote in 2022. With an
increasing trend of newer voters not relying on major political parties
or candidates for election information, it is critical that we reimagine
how public universities can expand their voter education efforts to
increase youth turnout, dispel voter confusion, combat misinformation
about elections, and promote an informed citizenry of young New Yorkers.

According to the National Study for Learning, Voting and Engagement
(NSLVE), there was a notable gap in the turnout rate of student voters
and the rate of eligible student voters who registered to vote in the
last presidential election. Even if a young person is registered to
vote, one of the most common reasons young people cite for not voting in
an election is the lack of information about election processes and who
is running for office.

Some public universities like Binghamton University, have robust
programs in place to engage students on the importance of voting and
civic engagement. However, not all colleges and universities have a high
level of engagement or any engagement in civics and the importance of
voting.

This legislation would require all public colleges and universities to
develop and implement student voter action plans with multiple civic
events a year, provide students with regular nonpartisan election-relat-
ed information via different mediums, work with local boards of
elections to standardize student voter registration, create university
voter committees with students and support student groups doing voter
engagement. Furthermore, the Act outlines the required election-related
information to be sent to students, allows excusel policies for students
to vote, and will enroll all CUNY/SUNY schools in Tuft's National Study
for Learning, Voting and Engagement.

The Student Voter Empowerment Act will play a key role in ensuring our
public colleges and universities are doing everything they can as trust-
ed messengers of civic information to close the voter registration and
turnout gap of young voters across New York.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law;
provided, however, that if chapter 226 of the laws of 2022 shall not
have taken effect on or before such date then section three of this act
shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as such chap-
ter of the laws of 2022 takes effect. Effective immediately, any rules
and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act on its
effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such
date.

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9676
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 17, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  WEBB  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to enacting  the  "student
   voter empowerment act"
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "student voter empowerment act".
   §  2.  Subdivision 18 of section 5-211 of the election law, as amended
 by chapter 481 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   18. (a) [(i)] On or before January first,  two  thousand  twenty,  all
 institutions of the state university of New York and the city university
 of  New  York  shall create and make available to all students a webpage
 for voter education on each such  institution's  website,  containing  a
 link  to an application for voter registration, a link to an application
 for an early mail ballot, UPDATED INFORMATION  ABOUT  THE  LOCATION  AND
 HOURS OF THE POLLING PLACE DESIGNATED FOR STUDENTS REGISTERED TO VOTE ON
 THE CONTIGUOUS PROPERTY OF THE INSTITUTION, IF SUCH POLLING PLACE EXISTS
 PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  FIVE-A OF SECTION 4-104 OF THIS CHAPTER OR AS
 DESIGNATED BY THE LOCAL BOARD OF ELECTION, KEY DATES FOR  VOTING  REGIS-
 TRATION,  VOTING  TIMES, AND ABSENTEE VOTING DETAILED IN THE STATE BOARD
 OF ELECTIONS POLITICAL CALENDAR, INFORMATION ABOUT THE VOTING RIGHTS  OF
 STUDENTS, contact information for the county board of elections, and the
 name  and  contact  information  for  the [administrator responsible for
 voter  registration  assistance]  STUDENT  VOTING  COORDINATOR  on  each
 campus.
   [(ii)] (B) Each such institution shall, at the beginning of the school
 year,  and  again  in  January  of  a year in which the president of the
 United States is to be elected, provide an application for voter  regis-
 tration  and  an application for an early mail ballot to each student in
 each such institution. Each institution shall be considered  in  compli-
 ance  with  the  requirements  of this [subparagraph] PARAGRAPH for each
 student to whom  the  institution  electronically  transmits  a  message
 containing  the  link to the webpage for voter education, the link to an
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14487-02-4
 S. 9676                             2
 
 application for voter registration and the link to an application for an
 early mail ballot, if such  information  is  in  an  electronic  message
 devoted exclusively to voter registration.
   [(iii)]  (C)  Each  such  institution shall provide the same degree of
 assistance as required of participating agencies.
   [(b)] 19. (A) EACH INSTITUTION WITHIN THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
 AND THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK SHALL DESIGNATE A  STAFF  MEMBER  TO
 ACT  AS  A  STUDENT  VOTING  COORDINATOR. THE STUDENT VOTING COORDINATOR
 SHALL DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A STUDENT VOTING  ACTION  PLAN  TO  INCREASE
 STUDENT VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING AND DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION AMONG
 STUDENTS.    SUCH  STUDENT  VOTING  ACTION PLAN SHALL COVER THE TWO YEAR
 PERIOD IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING EACH STATEWIDE GENERAL  ELECTION,  PROVIDED
 HOWEVER THAT THE ACTION PLAN FOLLOWING THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER
 OF  THE  LAWS  OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR THAT AMENDED THIS SUBDIVISION
 SHALL COVER THE PERIOD AFTER SUCH EFFECTIVE DATE, AND SHALL  BE  UPDATED
 AFTER EACH STATEWIDE GENERAL ELECTION.
   (B) THE STUDENT VOTING ACTION PLAN SHALL INCLUDE:
   (I) A MINIMUM OF THREE ELECTION OUTREACH EVENTS TO INCREASE DEMOCRATIC
 PARTICIPATION  AND  STUDENT VOTING DURING AN ACADEMIC YEAR, INCLUDING AT
 LEAST ONE EVENT DURING THE FORTY-FIVE DAYS PRECEDING A GENERAL OR PRIMA-
 RY ELECTION. AT LEAST ONE EVENT SHALL BE  HELD  IN-PERSON.  SUCH  EVENTS
 SHALL  BE  OPEN  FOR  ALL  STUDENTS  TO  ATTEND, AND MAY BE SPONSORED BY
 STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS, PROVIDED THEY MAINTAIN REQUIREMENTS IN  PARAGRAPH
 (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   (II)  PROVISION  OF INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS ON VOTING AND VOTER REGIS-
 TRATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO APPLICATION AND ONLINE APPLICATION
 FOR VOTER REGISTRATION AS  REQUIRED  IN  SUBDIVISION  EIGHTEEN  OF  THIS
 SECTION,  IN CENTRAL LOCATIONS AND HIGH-TRAFFIC AREAS ON CAMPUS, INCLUD-
 ING DURING ORIENTATION EVENTS FOR NEW STUDENTS AND DURING COURSE  REGIS-
 TRATION  PROCESSES,  AND IN ELECTRONIC MESSAGES, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS,
 AND TEXT MESSAGES TO CELLULAR PHONES, TO THE EXTENT THE INSTITUTION USES
 SUCH METHODS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO STUDENTS.
   (III) IN CONSULTATION WITH LOCAL BOARDS  OF  ELECTIONS,  PROVISION  OF
 PRE-FILLED  VOTER  REGISTRATION  APPLICATIONS  WITH RELEVANT RESIDENTIAL
 ADDRESSES ON THE CONTIGUOUS PROPERTY OF THE COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.
   (IV) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ABOUT VOTER REGISTRATION AND  VOTING
 OPPORTUNITIES  TO ALL STUDENTS ON THE WEBSITE CREATED PURSUANT TO SUBDI-
 VISION EIGHTEEN OF THIS SECTION, INCLUDING:
   (A) THE DATES FOR EARLY VOTING AND ELECTION DAY VOTING;
   (B) THE LAST DAY FOR VOTER REGISTRATION,  ENROLLMENT,  AND  CHANGE  OF
 ENROLLMENT;
   (C)  THE PROCESS TO SEARCH FOR A VOTER'S EARLY VOTING AND ELECTION DAY
 ASSIGNED POLL SITES AND VOTER REGISTRATION STATUS;
   (D) THE LOCATION  AND  HOURS  OF  THE  POLLING  PLACE  DESIGNATED  FOR
 STUDENTS REGISTERED TO VOTE AT ANY ADDRESS ON THE CONTIGUOUS PROPERTY OF
 THE INSTITUTION, PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FIVE-A OF SECTION 4-104 OF THIS
 CHAPTER, IF SUCH POLLING PLACE IS DESIGNATED;
   (E)  THE PROCESS AND DEADLINES FOR APPLYING FOR AND RETURNING ABSENTEE
 BALLOTS, EARLY MAIL BALLOTS, AND FOR CURING DEFECTS IN ABSENTEE BALLOTS;
   (F) THE OPTION TO USE STUDENTS' CAMPUS RESIDENCE ADDRESS  TO  REGISTER
 TO VOTE;
   (G)  THE  PROTECTIONS  FOR  THE RIGHT TO VOTE PURSUANT TO TITLE TWO OF
 ARTICLE SEVENTEEN OF THIS CHAPTER, THE JOHN R. LEWIS VOTING  RIGHTS  ACT
 OF NEW YORK, AND THE RIGHTS OF VOTERS WITH DISABILITIES; AND
   (H) THE ASSISTANCE FOR LANGUAGE-MINORITY GROUPS AS PROVIDED BY SECTION
 17-208 OF THIS CHAPTER.
 S. 9676                             3

   (V) SUPPORT OF STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS ENGAGED IN ACTIVITIES TO INCREASE
 VOTER  REGISTRATION AND VOTING BY STUDENTS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
 PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE, DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION OF ACTIVITIES,  OR
 FINANCIAL SUPPORT.
   (VI)  A  POLICY  ALLOWING A STUDENT TO BE EXCUSED FROM CLASS OR ABSENT
 FROM A JOB WITH THE INSTITUTION FOR A REASONABLE PERIOD FOR THE  PURPOSE
 OF  VOTING  ON ELECTION DAY, IF THE STUDENT DOES NOT HAVE THREE HOURS OF
 CONTINUOUS TIME OUT OF CLASS OR OFF FROM  A  JOB  WITH  THE  INSTITUTION
 DURING THE TIME THE POLLS ARE OPEN ON ELECTION DAY.
   (VII)  ANY  OTHER  ACTIVITIES  TO  IMPROVE  ACCESS TO VOTING AND VOTER
 REGISTRATION FOR STUDENTS.
   (C) THE WORK OF THE STUDENT VOTING COORDINATOR AND THE  ACTIVITIES  IN
 THE  STUDENT  VOTING  ACTION PLAN, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO OUTREACH
 EVENTS,  INFORMATIONAL  MATERIALS,  AND  COMMUNICATIONS,  SHALL  NOT  BE
 CONDUCTED  FOR  THE PURPOSE OF FAVORING OR DISFAVORING PARTICULAR CANDI-
 DATES OR POLITICAL PARTIES.
   (D) THE CHANCELLOR OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AND  THE  CHAN-
 CELLOR OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK SHALL PROMULGATE RULES FOR THE
 MANNER  OF DEVELOPING THE STUDENT VOTING ACTION PLAN WHICH SHALL INCLUDE
 CONSULTATION WITH STAFF, FACULTY MEMBERS, AND STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS WITH
 EXPERIENCE IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
   (E) EACH INSTITUTION WITHIN THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK  AND  THE
 CITY  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEW  YORK  SHALL  ENROLL IN THE NATIONAL STUDY FOR
 LEARNING, VOTING, AND ENGAGEMENT BY  THE  INSTITUTE  FOR  DEMOCRACY  AND
 HIGHER  EDUCATION AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY. WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF RECEIVING A
 REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL STUDY FOR LEARNING, VOTING, AND  ENGAGEMENT  BY
 THE INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY AND HIGHER EDUCATION AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY, AN
 INSTITUTION  SHALL  SEND THE REPORT TO THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS. THE
 STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL MAKE SUCH REPORTS PUBLICLY  AVAILABLE  ON
 THE WEBSITE.
   (F)  The  state  university of New York and the city university of New
 York, on behalf of each institution  within  its  system,  shall  on  or
 before June first, two thousand twenty, and each subsequent year, submit
 a  report disaggregated according to each institution to the state board
 of elections that includes:
   (i) the efforts of the institution to register voters in the preceding
 calendar year;
   (ii) a date-stamped screen shot of the  webpage  for  voter  education
 that  contains  the  required  information under [paragraph (a) of this]
 subdivision EIGHTEEN OF THIS SECTION;
   (iii) the number of students who were registered for  course  work  in
 the preceding twelve months at such institution and the number of clicks
 on the links to online voter registration and early mail ballot applica-
 tions; [and]
   (iv)  any  other  efforts  or recommendations the institution plans to
 implement to improve access to voter registration and early mail  ballot
 voting for students at the institution; AND
   (V) EACH STUDENT VOTING ACTION PLAN DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED PURSUANT
 TO PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   [(c)] (G) The state board of elections shall make the reports provided
 pursuant  to  paragraph [(b)] (F) of this subdivision publicly available
 on its website.
   § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 17-208 of the  election
 law,  as added by chapter 226 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as
 follows:
 S. 9676                             4
 
   (a) more than two percent, but in no instance fewer than three hundred
 individuals, of the citizens of voting age of a political subdivision OR
 RESIDENTS OF A COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY are members of a  single  language-
 minority group and are limited English proficient.
   §  4. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
 law; provided, however, that if chapter 226 of the laws  of  2022  shall
 not  have taken effect on or before such date then section three of this
 act shall take effect on the same date and in the same  manner  as  such
 chapter  of  the  laws of 2022 takes effect.  Effective immediately, any
 rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this  act
 on  its  effective  date  are  authorized to be made and completed on or
 before such date.

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Senate Bill S9676

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

co-Sponsors

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S9676

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Lea Webb

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

co-Sponsors

Rachel May

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S9676 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments