§ 5-211. Agency assisted registration. Each agency designated as a\nparticipating agency under the provisions of this section shall\nimplement and administer a program of distribution of voter registration\nforms pursuant to the provisions of this section. The following offices\nwhich provide public assistance and/or provide state funded programs\nprimarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities are\nhereby designated as voter registration agencies: designated as the\nstate agencies which provide public assistance are the office of\nchildren and family services, the office of temporary and disability\nassistance and the department of health. Also designated as public\nassistance agencies are all agencies of local government that provide\nsuch assistance. Designated as state agencies that provide programs\nprimarily engaged in providing services to people with disabilities are\nthe department of labor, office for the aging, department of veterans'\nservices, office of mental health, office of vocational and educational\nservices for individuals with disabilities, commission on quality of\ncare for the mentally disabled, office for people with developmental\ndisabilities, commission for the blind, office of addiction services and\nsupports, the office of the advocate for the disabled and all offices\nwhich administer programs established or funded by such agencies.\nAdditional participating agencies designated as voter registration\noffices are the department of state and the district offices of the\nworkers' compensation board. Such agencies shall be required to offer\nvoter registration forms to persons upon initial application for\nservices, renewal or recertification for services and upon change of\naddress relating to such services. Such agencies shall also be\nresponsible for providing assistance to applicants in completing voter\nregistration forms, receiving and transmitting the completed application\nform from all applicants who wish to have such form transmitted to the\nappropriate board of elections. The state board of elections shall,\ntogether with representatives of the United States department of\ndefense, develop and implement procedures for including recruitment\noffices of the armed forces of the United States as voter registration\noffices when such offices are so designated by federal law. The state\nboard of elections shall also make request of the United States\nCitizenship and Immigration Services to include applications for\nregistration by mail with any materials which are given to new citizens.\n 1. The state board of elections shall adopt such rules and regulations\nas may be necessary to carry out the requirements of this section and\nshall prepare and distribute to participating agencies written\ninstructions as to the implementation of the program and shall be\nresponsible for establishing training programs for employees of\nparticipating agencies involved in such program. The state board of\nelections shall provide a toll free telephone to answer registration\nquestions.\n 2. Strict neutrality with respect to a person's party enrollment shall\nbe maintained and all persons seeking voter registration forms and\ninformation shall be advised that government services are not\nconditioned on being registered to vote. No statement shall be made nor\nany action taken to discourage the applicant from registering to vote.\n 3. If a participating agency provides services to a person with a\ndisability at the person's place of residence, the agency shall offer\nthe opportunity to complete a voter registration form at such place of\nresidence.\n 4. Each participating agency shall provide to each applicant who does\nnot decline to register to vote the same degree of assistance with\nregard to the completion of the registration application form as is\nprovided by the agency with regard to the completion of its own form\nunless the applicant refuses such assistance.\n 5. Employees of
‹ Prev All New York sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.