S1973

An Act establishing a pilot program in Camden County for automatic voter registration using Motor Vehicle Commission applicant information.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, the Secretary of State, and the county commissioner of registration in Camden County shall develop a pilot program for automatic voter registration of applicants who reside in the county, as specified in this section.

b. Under the pilot program, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall transmit to the Secretary of State electronic records containing the legal name, age, residence, citizenship, and digitized signature of each applicant for a motor vehicle driver’s license or non-driver identification card, who resides in Camden County and meets the criteria specified by the Secretary of State that would make that applicant eligible to be a legal voter, for automatic voter registration purposes.

Upon receiving an applicant’s electronic record and digitized signature, the Secretary of State shall transmit the information to the Camden County commissioner of registration. The county commissioner of registration shall notify the applicant of the automatic voter registration, and shall inform the applicant of the process to decline being registered to vote or, if not declining, of the option to select a political party affiliation. If the applicant does not decline the voter registration within 21 calendar days after the county commissioner of registration issues the notification, the applicant’s electronic record and digitized signature shall constitute a complete voter registration form for the purposes of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, and the applicant shall be registered to vote if the county commissioner of registration determines that the applicant is eligible to register to vote pursuant to Article II, Section I, paragraph 3 of the New Jersey Constitution and Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, and is not disqualified. The Camden County commissioner of registration shall delete the electronic record and digitized signature of an applicant who declines to be registered to vote pursuant to this section.

c. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a person who is 17 years of age shall be eligible to be registered to vote in accordance with the provisions of this section, provided that the person’s registration shall become official on the person’s 18th birthday.

d. The Chief Administrator shall also transmit to the Secretary of State the electronic record and digitized signature of an applicant residing in Camden County who is updating the legal name or address information on an existing motor vehicle driver’s license or non-driver identification card, who meets the criteria specified by the Secretary of State that would qualify that applicant as a legal voter, for automatic voter registration purposes as specified under this section and for updating an existing voter registration record.

e. The pilot program shall commence as soon as practicable following the effective date of this section, and shall be conducted during a six-month period. Within 60 days following the expiration of the six-month period, the Secretary of State, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and the Camden County commissioner of registration shall develop and submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), containing an assessment of the pilot program’s efficiency, effectiveness, costs, and other data concerning the program, including recommendations on whether a permanent program for automatic voter registration should be implemented in the State.

f. The Secretary of State and the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, in consultation with the Camden County commissioner of registration, shall promulgate any rules, regulations, or guidelines necessary to implement the pilot program.

2. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall expire within 60 days following implementation of the program or upon submission of the required report.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes a pilot program for automatic voter registration of Camden County residents who apply for a motor vehicle driver’s license or non-driver identification card at New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) offices.

Under the pilot program, the Chief Administrator of the MVC would transmit to the Secretary of State electronic records containing the legal name, age, residence, citizenship, and digitized signature of each applicant for a motor vehicle driver’s license or non-driver identification card, who lives in Camden County and meets the criteria specified by the Secretary of State that would make that applicant eligible to be a legal voter, for automatic voter registration purposes. Upon receiving an applicant’s electronic record and digitized signature, the Secretary of State would transmit the information to the Camden County commissioner of registration. The county commissioner of registration would then notify the applicant of the automatic voter registration, and inform the applicant of the process to decline being registered to vote or, if not declining, of the option to select a political party affiliation. If the applicant does not decline the voter registration within 21 calendar days after the county commissioner of registration issues the notification, the applicant’s electronic record and digitized signature would constitute a complete voter registration form under current law, and the applicant would be registered to vote if the county commissioner of registration determines that the applicant is eligible to register to vote under the State Constitution, and is not disqualified. The Camden County commissioner of registration would be required to delete the electronic record and digitized signature of an applicant who declines to be registered to vote.

A person who is 17 years of age would be eligible to be registered to vote under the pilot program, but that person’s registration would become official on the person’s 18th birthday.

Under the pilot program, the Chief Administrator would also transmit to the Secretary of State the electronic record and digitized signature of an applicant residing in Camden County who is updating the legal name or address information on an existing motor vehicle driver’s license or non-driver identification card, who meets the criteria specified by the Secretary of State that would qualify that applicant as a legal voter, for automatic voter registration purposes and for updating an existing voter registration record.

The pilot program would begin as soon as practicable following the bill’s effective date, and would be conducted during a six month period. Within 60 days following the expiration of the six-month period, the Secretary of State, the Chief Administrator, and the Camden County commissioner of registration would develop and submit a report to the Governor and to the Legislature containing an assessment of the pilot program’s efficiency, effectiveness, costs, and other data concerning the program, including recommendations on whether a permanent program for automatic voter registration should be implemented in the State.

The Secretary of State and the Chief Administrator, in consultation with the Camden County commissioner of registration, would promulgate any rules, regulations, or guidelines necessary to implement the pilot program. The program would expire within 60 days following the implementation of the program or upon submission of the required report.

The provisions of this bill are modeled after an automatic voter registration law recently enacted in Oregon.