BILL NUMBER: S1016
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to the qualifications of
voters; and to amend the education law, in relation to civic education
and student voter registration
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To amend the election law and high school curricula in order to lower
the voting age to 17, making it easier for high school students to
register to vote and incorporate civics into high school curricula.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends current New York election law to allow all
persons seventeen years of age or older to vote in state and local
elections.
Section 2 of the bill amends current New York election law to allow all
persons turning seventeen years of age in a given calendar year to
register to vote in that year. This section makes current voter regis-
tration laws consistent with a voting age of seventeen.
Section 3 of the bill changes the oath a person must take at a polling
place if his or her eligibility to vote is challenged so that this oath
is consistent with a voting age of seventeen.
Section 4 of the bill incorporates existing New York State grade 9-12
civics standards into grades 9-11 social studies class for a minimum of
8 full class periods.
Section 5 of the bill mandates that all high schools in the State of New
York shall distribute two forms to all students turning seventeen years
of age in that calendar year. One of the forms shall be a standard voter
registration form and the other shall be a "Voter Registration Opt-Out
Form." Every student will have the opportunity to complete either form
as they wish, and school administrators will collect both forms.
Section 6 of the bill sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently in the state of New York, seventeen year-olds are tasked with
many of the responsibilities of adulthood. They are tried as adults in
criminal proceedings, and they pay state and federal taxes for jobs they
hold to support themselves and their families. Because they do not have
the right to vote, seventeen year-olds have no input towards the govern-
ment that shapes their lives, no input as to who oversees the public
schools that 855 of them attend, no input as to who administers the
taxes that the 80% of them who work pay, and no input as to who will
make the crucial decisions of our day, decisions that will affect their
lives. *, **
Lowering the voting age to seventeen, coupled with an opt-out registra-
tion system and a targeted seminar in civics will not only respect the
right to self-determination of this age group, but will greatly encour-
age youth turnout and engagement which, from 1972 to 2012, has dropped
from 50% to 38%. ***
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.660 of 2023-2024 (Hoylman-Sigal): Died in Elections
A.274 of 2023-2024 (Carroll): Died in Elections Law
S.0366 of 2021-2022 (Hoylman): Died in Elections
A.0635 of 2021-2022 (Carroll): Died in Election Law
S.2273-A of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Elections
A.3339-A of 2019-2020 (Carroll): Died in Election Law
S.5646 of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in Elections
A.6839 of 2017-2018 (Carroll): Died in Election Law
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the same date as a concurrent resolution
amending the constitution, entitled "CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE
AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment to section I of article 2 of the
constitution, in relation to the voting age."
* Studies: Light 1995; Steinberg and Cauffman 1995; The Evansville Cour-
ier, August 10, 2003, p. B3.
** NY Department of Education Information and Reporting Services,
"2011-2015 Enrollment Data Archive (Public school enrollment statistics,
NY, 2017).
*** "Why the voting age should be lowered." The Economist. February 04,
2017. Accessed March 10, 2017. http://www.economist.cominews/
leaders/21716 030-young-voters-are- becomi ng-di sillusioned-e lection
s-catch-them-ea rly-and-t each-them-value.

Statutes affected:
S1016: 5-102 election law, 5-102(1) election law, 5-210 election law, 5-210(5) election law, 8-504 election law, 8-504(3) election law, 801 education law, 801(1) education law