SENATE, No. 679

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  SAMUEL D. THOMPSON

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires automatic voter registration process at agency or office providing hunting, fishing, or trapping license.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

  


An Act concerning automatic voter registration locations and amending P.L.2018, c.6.

 

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

 

     1.    Section 4 of P.L.2018, c.6 (C.19:31-6.14) is amended to read as follows: 

     4.    a. Any State agency, except for the Motor Vehicle Commission, that the Secretary of State verifies already collects documents that would provide proof of eligibility, including age, citizenship, and residence address, may establish and implement, upon approval by the Secretary of State, a procedure for automatically and electronically transmitting voter registration information to the Secretary of State of persons who are eligible to vote for the purpose of registering such persons to vote or updating their voter registration. Each person from whom such information is collected shall be offered an opportunity to decline automatic voter registration. Any such agency shall comply with the requirements, to the extent applicable as determined by the Secretary of State, as established in subsections b. through d. of section 24 of P.L.1994, c.182 (C.39:2-3.2).

     b.    Any additional agencies that are designated for automatic voter registration shall comply with the requirements, to the extent applicable as determined by the Secretary of State, as established in section 24 of P.L.1994, c.182 (C.39:2-3.2) for automatic voter registration and shall provide the notices required pursuant to subsection c. thereof to each person from whom such information is collected.

     c.     Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, any agency or office providing hunting, fishing, or trapping licenses under the Division of Fish and Wildlife in the Department of Environmental Protection, established pursuant to P.L.1999, c.282 (C.23:2B-15.1), and that the Secretary of State verifies already collects documents that would provide proof of eligibility, including age, citizenship, and residence address, shall establish and implement, upon approval by the Secretary of State, a procedure for automatically and electronically transmitting voter registration information to the Secretary of State of persons who are eligible to vote for the purpose of registering such persons to vote or updating their voter registration. Each person from whom such information is collected shall be offered an opportunity to decline automatic voter registration. An agency or office implementing the provisions of this subsection shall comply with the requirements, to the extent applicable as determined by the Secretary of State, for automatic voter registration as established in subsections b. through d. of section 24 of P.L.1994, c.182 (C.39:2-3.2), including the provision of the notices required pursuant to subsection c. thereof to each person from whom voter registration information is collected.

(cf: P.L.2018, c.6, s.4)

 

     2.    This act shall take effect on January 1 next following the date of enactment, but the Secretary of State may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill requires the establishment of an automatic voter registration process at an agency or office providing hunting, fishing, or trapping licenses. The bill requires such agencies or offices to establish an automatic voter registration process similar to that currently applicable at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC).

     Under the bill, any agency or office providing hunting, fishing, or trapping licenses under the Division of Fish and Wildlife in the Department of Environmental Protection, that the Secretary of State verifies already collects documents that would provide proof of eligibility, including age, citizenship, and residence address, would be required to establish and implement, upon approval by the Secretary of State, a procedure for automatically and electronically transmitting voter registration information to the Secretary of State of persons who are eligible to vote for the purpose of registering such persons to vote or updating their voter registration. Each person from whom voter registration information is collected would be offered an opportunity to decline automatic voter registration. The bill requires compliance with the automatic voter registration requirements established under current law for the NJMVC, including the provision of required notices to their clients, to the extent applicable as determined by the Secretary of State.