What is the National Voter Registration Act?
The National Voter Registration Act is commonly referred to as the "Motor Voter" bill because it provides for new voter registration opportunities at all DMV offices when you apply for or renew your New York State Driver's license or ID card. This is only one major aspect of the NVRA.
It also created the opportunity to register to vote at a variety of other New York State agencies. This component of the NVRA is called "Agency Based Voter Registration Program". You can now register to vote at the same time you are applying for assistance or service from state agencies. For example:
| Social Services Department | Vocational & Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities |
| Department of Health | Office of Mental Health |
| Department of Labor | Office for the Aging |
This act has provided major changes in many of the functions of this Board. Bills were introduced years earlier calling for agency and motor voter based registration, but major implementation of this particular Act began in 1995. The primary goals of this implementation were:
*to protect the integrity of the electoral process
*to develop fail safe procedures to promote voter activity
Another major aspect of this law is the reasons for which a voters registration is no longer valid. New York State law echoes the Federal Law. A voters registration will become "inactive' if they fail to respond to an address confirmation notice. These records are not sent to the polling place. If an "inactive" voter goes to the polls to cast his vote, he is allowed to vote by affidavit ballot and his registration is restored to "active". A voter's registration shall be canceled if they did not vote in any election conducted by the board of elections during the period ending with the second general election at which candidates for Federal office are on the ballot after their name was placed in inactive status and for whom the board of elections did not, during such period, receive information that such voter still resides in the same county of city. (NYS Election Law 5-400(1)(f))
How NVRA effected Tompkins County
NVRA has created more work at all local boards of elections. It is now necessary to send an acknowledgement notice to voters, advising them of any changes in their registration. It also requires considerable documentation, because there is a "paper trail" of any action taken which results in the changing of a registration, or the deletion of a registration. Tompkins County currently keeps over 10,000 inactive voters. Annual registration has also grown to 55,156 voters , a growth average of 3% per year. Since 1994, the last gubernatorial year, registration has grown an amazing 23 percent. (Statistics as of January 1, 1999)
