BILL NUMBER: S2574
SPONSOR: ORTT
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law and the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to requiring a valid government issued photo identification
card to be presented when casting a ballot
 
PURPOSE:
This bill requires voters to present a valid photo identification.
Additionally, this bill eliminates financial barriers that may preclude
low-income voters from obtaining a valid photo identification.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the election law to require all voters to present a
valid photo identification. It defines what constitutes a valid photo
ID. Lastly, it permits those without ID to cast provisional ballots as
long as they provide a valid ID to the Board of Elections within 3 days
of the election.
Section 2 amends the vehicle and traffic law to waive the cost of a
non-driver ID for those whose income qualifies them for Medicaid.
Section 3 sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, 34 states have some form of voter ID laws. New York is not
one of those states, which makes it very difficult to verify that voters
are who they claim to be. Requiring a photo ID will strengthen the
integrity and security of our elections. At a time when our state is
passing election access reforms like early voting, it is critical that
we also pass reforms to heighten the security of our elections.
Concerns have been raised that voter ID laws discriminate against those
on limited incomes because they are not able to afford a photo ID. This
bill makes non-driver IDs free to those with low incomes to ensure that
this law does not reduce their ability to access polls.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S.876/A.4414 Referred to Elections
2021-2022: S. 3625 Referred to Elections
2019-2020: S. 2091; Referred to Elections
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S2574: 491 vehicle and traffic law, 491(2) vehicle and traffic law