Res 0324-2018

By The Speaker (Council Member Johnson) and Council Members Kallos, Constantinides, Cornegy and Ampry-Samuel Whereas, the right to vote is a fundamental right secured in both the federal constitution and the New York state constitution; and Whereas, The only fully electronic voter registration system currently in operation statewide is the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles electronic voter registration system, which requires the registrant to have a New York State issued driver license, permit or Non-Driver ID; and Whereas, Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have used the DMV registration system since it was launched in 2012 but the demand for the service led to the website crashing right before registration deadlines; and Whereas, Studies have found that fewer young people are obtaining driver licenses, yet they would be most likely to register to vote online; and Whereas, The City Council passed, and the Mayor signed into law, Local Law 238 of 2017, in relation to online facilitation of voter registration, to create a web portal for local online voter registration, that would facilitate the registration of any eligible resident of the City; and Whereas, A.5382A would establish, in addition to the existing methods for voter registration, a process for any eligible New Yorker to register to vote through a New York State Board of Elections website; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, A.5382A, the "Voter Enfranchisement Modernization Act of 2018," an act that establishes an electronic personal voter registration process and provides for online voter registration. LS#6569 4/23/18 BJR