Provides for automatic voter registration and preregistration for persons applying for certain department of motor vehicles documentation…

• Democratic91

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Michael Gianaris says this is needed

In 2020, New York honored its commitment to expanding access to the ballot box by adopting an automatic voter registration (AVR) system. Rather than require citizens to opt into voter registration, AVR removed this unnecessary barrier by registering eligible voters automatically whenever they interact with government agencies such as the DMV or DOH. Voters would be given the opportunity to decline - or opt out of - voter registration, but the default would be to keep eligible voters regis- tered in order to maximize voting access and participation. Now, as we await the implementation of AVR, it is critical that we make necessary upgrades to our AVR procedures, not only to streamline the process even further, but also to ensure that vulnerable communities are fully protected. This bill adopts an "Enhanced AVR" system, utilizing best practices from other AVR states to refine and improve New York's system. Secure AVR relies on citizenship verification procedures already in place for driver's licenses and Medicaid enrollment transactions-to automatically filter those who are clearly citizens into a fully stream- lined automatic voter registration process, while automatically filter- ing those who are clearly not citizens out of any voter registration opportunity. Individuals with indeterminate citizenship based on these agency procedures would be required to affirmatively indicate eligibil- ity and select registration, instead of being automatically channeled into an opt-out process. Enhanced AVR has been adopted in 10 other states and Washington, D.C., to ensure that AVR systems are as secure and effective as possible. These changes fully streamline the voter registration process for people who are clearly eligible, providing the option to decline post-transac- tion. These upgrades also ensure that address updates from agency trans- actions automatically reach the voter file, ensuring current and accu- rate registration records. At the same time, these changes create additional protection to reduce the risk of mistaken registration by ineligible people. By contrast, under current law, the onus is on some ineligible people to affirmative- ly decline registration, creating the possibility of human error due to inattention, confusion, or limited English proficiency. In our efforts to expand voting access, we must balance the goal of fully streamlining registration for eligible people with the goal of protecting vulnerable persons from an honest mistake. That is the balance Enhanced AVR achieves.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.