Res 0745-2023

Whereas, All eligible New Yorkers deserve a reasonable opportunity to exercise their fundamental voting rights; and Whereas, New York State consistently has one of the lowest voter turnout rates, ranking 39th among states in the 2022 General Election; and Whereas, Potential voters often find it challenging to register, due to confusing rules and/or lack of time, resulting in only 63.2 percent of eligible voters being registered in 2022, according to the Census Bureau; and Whereas, Article 2, Section 5 of the New York State Constitution requires that voter registration be completed at least 10 days before each election; and Whereas, A 2019 amendment to the Election Law allowed voters in New York State to register to vote 25 days before any election event, including general, primary, and special elections; and Whereas, Under the current process, the voter registration deadline being nearly one month before an election could cause many hopeful registrants to not be eligible to vote in the following election; and Whereas, A.181, introduced by Assembly Member Robert C. Carroll and pending in the New York State Assembly, and companion bill S.178, introduced by State Senator Michael Gianaris and pending in the New York State Senate, seek to amend the New York State Constitution by removing the requirement that registration for purposes of voting be completed at least 10 days before election day; and Whereas, Removing barriers towards making the voter registration deadline closer to election events can only benefit New Yorkers, by granting more time to register to vote; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, A.181/S.178, in relation to amending the New York State Constitution to remove the requirement that registration for purposes of voting be completed at least 10 days before election day. Session 11 EK LS #11088 1/10/2020 Res. 1223 Session 12 LMS/JDP LS #8084, 13991 8/9/2023 1:58 PM