NEW YORK (WKBW) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the New York Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2020 into law Tuesday.
The governor's office says the law will help increase voter turnout while reducing administrative barriers to processing voter registration applications.
"The right to vote is one of, if not the most, sacred pillars of our democracy and for too long, bureaucratic red tape has made it unnecessarily difficult for New Yorkers to exercise this right," Governor Cuomo said. "From instituting early voting to making necessary reforms to the absentee ballot process, New York has already made elections more accessible, but we are far from finished. With this new law on the books, we are taking this work a step further and not only instituting automatic voter registration, but creating a single uniform platform for registering online."
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles and other state agencies that interact directly with NY residents will work with the NYS Board of Elections to integrate agency and voter registration applications.
"This new, single application will serve as both an application for services and a voter registration application. Only eligible voters may register, and applications will be transmitted to the State Board of Elections with the signature and consent of the applicant," a release from the governor's office says.
Officials say the DMV will come online in 2023, the Department of Health, Department of Labor and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance will come online in 2024, the State University of New York will come online in 2025.
