Same-Day Voter Registration In New York Proposed By Eric Schneiderman

NEW YORK, NY — New York's attorney general proposed a sweeping overhaul of the state's voting regulations on Wednesday, announcing a bill that would include provisions for early voting and same-day voter registration, among other measures.

Eric Schneiderman, the state attorney general, announced the bill on Wednesday with the aim of simplifying the voter registration process and increasing voter turnout.

The bill, titled the New York Votes Act, will be sponsored by Michael Cusick, a Democrat from Staten Island, in the state assembly. The act proposes extensive changes to some the most stringent rules currently guiding voting in New York

Here are some of the most notable provisions:

• Same day registration for new voters: The bill would allow any New Yorker qualified to vote to register on election day. It would let someone show up at a polling place, register to vote and cast a ballot in one stop.
• Return voting rights for New Yorkers on parole: The act would restore voting rights to people with a felony conviction while they are on parole or post-release supervision, according to the attorney general's office. Currently, New York residents with a felony conviction can only vote after they've completed parole.
• Early voting: The New York Votes Act would allow registered voters to vote at a polling places in the two weeks before an election. In the 2016 election, New Yorkers had only two options: to show up at the polls on election day or to vote via an absentee ballot. The empire state is one of just 13 states that has no opportunity for early voting.

Many of these suggested changes come from the attorney general's December report on voter access in the 2016 presidential primaries. In that report, Schneiderman promised the New York Votes Act would be introduced in the state assembly in 2017.

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