S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1016
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  BAILEY,  COMRIE, JACKSON, PARKER,
   RIVERA, SALAZAR -- 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 the  qualifications  of
   voters; and to amend the education law, in relation to civic education
   and student voter registration
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section  5-102  of  the  election  law  is
 amended to read as follows:
   1.  No  person  shall  be  qualified  to  register for and vote at any
 election unless [he] SUCH PERSON is a citizen of the United  States  and
 is  or will be, on the day of such election, [eighteen] SIXTEEN years of
 age or over, and a resident of this state and of  the  county,  city  or
 village for a minimum of thirty days next preceding such election.
   §  2.  Paragraph (g) of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of the election
 law, as amended by chapter 113 of the laws of 2023, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   (g)  Notice that the applicant must be a citizen of the United States,
 is OR WILL BE at least sixteen years old [when they submit  an  applica-
 tion to register to vote which will be effective for elections occurring
 on  or  after  the applicant turns eighteen years of age] NOT LATER THAN
 DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST OF THE CALENDAR YEAR IN WHICH THE APPLICANT REGIS-
 TERS and a resident of the county or city to which application is made.
   § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 8-504 of the election law, as renumbered
 by chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
   3. After receiving the answers as above specified, of  any  applicant,
 the  board  shall,  if  it believes the applicant to be qualified or the
 challenge is withdrawn, permit [him] THE APPLICANT to  vote.  Otherwise,
 the  board shall point out to [him] THE APPLICANT the qualifications, if
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD03234-01-5
 S. 1016                             2
 
 any, in respect of which [he] THE APPLICANT shall appear deficient.  If,
 after  such  deficiencies  have  been  so indicated, the applicant shall
 persist in [his] THE claim to vote, an  inspector  shall  administer  to
 [him]  THE  APPLICANT  the  following oath, which shall be known as "The
 Qualification Oath": "You do swear (or affirm) that you  are  [eighteen]
 SIXTEEN  years  of  age, that you are a citizen of the United States and
 that you have been a resident of this state, and of this county (of  the
 city  of  New  York)  (village)  for  thirty  days  next  preceding this
 election, that you still reside at the same address from which you  have
 been  duly registered in this election district, that you have not voted
 at this election, and that you do not know of any reason why you are not
 qualified to vote at this election. You do further declare that you  are
 aware  that  it  is  a  crime  to make any false statement. That all the
 statements you have made to the board have been true and that you under-
 stand that a false statement is perjury and you  will  be  guilty  of  a
 misdemeanor."
   §  4. Subdivision 1 of section 801 of the education law, as amended by
 section 27 of part A of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020, is amended and a
 new subdivision 6 is added to read as follows:
   1. In order to promote a spirit of patriotic  and  civic  service  and
 obligation  and  to foster in the children of the state moral and intel-
 lectual qualities which are essential in preparing  to  meet  the  obli-
 gations of citizenship in peace or in war, the regents of The University
 of  the  State  of  New  York  shall prescribe courses of instruction in
 patriotism, citizenship, civic education and values, our shared  history
 of diversity, the role of religious tolerance in this country, and human
 rights  issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity
 of genocide, slavery (including the freedom trail and underground  rail-
 road),  the  Holocaust,  and the mass starvation in Ireland from 1845 to
 1850, to be maintained and followed in all the schools of the state. The
 boards of education and  trustees  of  the  several  cities  and  school
 districts  of  the  state  shall require instruction to be given in such
 courses, by the teachers employed in the  schools  therein.  All  pupils
 attending  such  schools, over the age of eight years, shall attend upon
 such instruction. ALL PUPILS  IN  THE  NINTH  AND  HIGHER  GRADES  SHALL
 RECEIVE  CIVIC  EDUCATION  FOR  AT  LEAST  EIGHT  FULL CLASS PERIODS, IN
 ACCORDANCE WITH THE DEPARTMENT'S 9-12 SOCIAL STUDIES FRAMEWORK.
   Similar courses of instruction shall be prescribed and  maintained  in
 private  schools in the state, and all pupils in such schools over eight
 years of age shall attend upon such courses. If such courses are not  so
 established and maintained in a private school, attendance upon instruc-
 tion  in  such  school  shall  not be deemed substantially equivalent to
 instruction given to pupils of like age in the  public  schools  of  the
 city or district in which such pupils reside.
    6.  A.  THE  REGENTS,  IN  COLLABORATION  WITH  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF
 ELECTIONS, SHALL MAKE AVAILABLE TO EACH HIGH  SCHOOL  TWO  FORMS  TO  BE
 DISTRIBUTED TO ALL PUPILS WHO SHALL BE SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE ON OR BEFORE
 DECEMBER  THIRTY-FIRST  OF EACH YEAR. SUCH FORMS SHALL BE DISTRIBUTED ON
 ONE DATE BETWEEN THE SECOND AND FIFTH SCHOOL DAY IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY
 OF EACH YEAR.
   B. THE FIRST FORM TO BE DISTRIBUTED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL
 BE A STANDARD VOTER REGISTRATION FORM AS PRESCRIBED BY SECTION 5-210  OF
 THE  ELECTION LAW. SUCH FORM SHALL BE COMPLETED FOR EACH ELIGIBLE PUPIL,
 BY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS WHO SHALL COMPLETE EACH FIELD OF THE  REGISTRA-
 TION  FORM  EXCEPT  THE  FIELDS  PERTAINING TO CITIZENSHIP STATUS, PARTY
 AFFILIATION, SIGNATURE AND DATE. THE CONTENT OF  THE  REGISTRATION  FORM
 S. 1016                             3
 
 SHALL  BE  EXPLAINED  TO  ALL  PUPILS  TO WHOM FORMS ARE DISTRIBUTED AND
 PUPILS SHALL BE DIRECTED TO CORRECT ANY INCORRECT INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY
 COMPLETED BY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS.
   C.  THE  SECOND  FORM  TO  BE DISTRIBUTED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION
 SHALL BE ENTITLED "VOTER REGISTRATION OPT-OUT FORM"  AND  SHALL  CONTAIN
 THE  FOLLOWING  STATEMENT: "I, THE UNDERSIGNED, DECLINE TO REGISTER AS A
 VOTER IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK AT THIS TIME,  AND  DEFER  MY  CHOICE  OF
 REGISTRATION  IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK TO A FUTURE DATE OF MY CHOOSING."
 SUCH FORM SHALL BE CREATED BY THE  REGENTS  IN  COLLABORATION  WITH  THE
 STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS.
   D.  PUPILS  SHALL  BE  GIVEN CLASSROOM TIME TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO
 COMPLETE EITHER THE STANDARD VOTER REGISTRATION FORM OR THE VOTER REGIS-
 TRATION OPT-OUT FORM. AFTER PUPILS HAVE HAD TIME TO COMPLETE BOTH FORMS,
 SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS SHALL COLLECT BOTH FORMS FROM ALL PUPILS  TO  WHOM
 THE  FORMS WERE DISTRIBUTED.  SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS SHALL BE REQUIRED TO
 DISPOSE OF ALL VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS FOR  PUPILS  WHO  ELECT  TO  NOT
 REGISTER TO VOTE.
   §  5.  This  act  shall  take  effect on the same date as a concurrent
 resolution amending the constitution, entitled "CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF
 THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing amendments to section 1 of  article  2
 of  the constitution, in relation to the voting age"; provided, however,
 that the amendments made to paragraph (g) of subdivision  5  of  section
 5-210  of  the  election law made by section two of this act, shall take
 effect immediately.