NEW RULES FOR 2020: 16 YEARS OLD CAN PRE-REGISTER TO VOTE

This was signed into law in January 2019 but became effective yesterday.

"BILL NUMBER: S1100

SPONSOR: CARLUCCI
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the election law, in relation to voter
pre-registration

 
PURPOSE:

This bill amends the election law to allow those 16 and 17 years of age
to pre-register to vote.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends paragraph o of subdivision 4 of section 5-500 of the
election law and adds a new paragraph p that provides for the addition
of a space on a voter registration form for pre-registering applicants.

Section 2. Adds a new section 5-507 to the election law to allow a
person who is at least 16 years old and is otherwise qualified to regis-
ter to vote, to pre-register to vote with said individual becoming auto-
matically registered upon reaching the age of eligibility. This section

also requires local boards of education to adopt policies to promote
student voter registration and pre-registration.

Section 3. Amends paragraph g of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of the
election law to state that an applicant is at least sixteen years old
when he or she submits an application to register to vote which will be
effective for elections occurring on or after the applicant turns eigh-
teen years of age.

Section 4. Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

There are currently at least thirteen states that allow 16- and/or
17-year-olds to pre-register to vote. The age 16 is a sensible time for
the DMV and high schools to collect information for voter pre-registra-
tion, as it is the time when a significant amount of people have their
first interaction with the DMV, and it is an age where school is still
compulsory in New York. Pre-registration allows this information to be
collected at a convenient time for the individual rather than making
them return to the boards of elections or a state agency when they reach
eligible voting age. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2010 only
46.6% of eligible New York voters between the ages of 18 and 24 were
registered to vote (the most recent data available). This percentage is
likely to increase when information is gathered to pre-register 16- and
17-year-olds, and then automatically registering young voters when they
reach an eligible voting age. Getting young people involved in the
election process allows them to form the habit of voting and contribute
to civic life early."