Spectrum News: “Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday approved a long-sought bill creating a system of automatic voter registration at multiple state agencies in New York. ‘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,’ 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 law is meant to expand voter registration in the state and make it easier to do so when a person interacts with a state agency like the Department of Motor Vehicles. For example, when a person fills out an application for a driver’s license, it will be integrated with an application to register to vote.”

“Only eligible voters can register and applications sent to the state Board of Elections with the signature and consent of the applicant. Opposition to the measure in the Legislature had stemmed in part over concerns undocumented immigrants would be eligible to register to vote under the measure; lawmakers in support of the new law have pointed to safeguards in the legislation and existing law that would prevent that from happening. The changes will be phased in by state agency: The Motor Vehicle process will come online in 2023, the Department of Health, Labor and Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance in 2024. The State University of New York will come online in 2025. The measure is the latest election law change approved in recent years that are designed to make it easier to vote in New York, including a system of early voting in advance of Election Day.”