Registering to Vote in New York City is harder than it needs to be. Today, only New Yorkers with a Valid Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Issued State ID or Driver’s License are Eligible to Register Online.

That means over 750,000 New Yorkers are Only Eligible to Register to Vote by Printing-Out and Mailing in a Paper Application Form. That is Unacceptable in 2020.

Luckily, there’s a Simple Solution to make Voting easier across New York city. In 2018, the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) created an Online Voter Registration (OVR) System.

The Problem: The New York City Board of Elections (NYCBOE) said it could Not Accept Registrations from this System, due to a Lack of Clear Guidance from the State Board of Elections (BOE).

The New York State Legislature has an Opportunity to Fix this Problem by Passing Legislation this week. Senate Bill S6463 and Assembly Bill A8473 would Require the NYCBOE to Accept Online Voter Registrations from CFB's Online Form. This OVR Platform has Undergone Months of Testing and is ready to be Rolled-Out as soon as Legislation is Passed.

Why does OVR matter?

- Due to COVID-19, nearly All In-Person Voter Registration Events have been Cancelled this year. The result? Voter Registrations in 2020 have Decreased 48.6% from 2016, dropping from 155,215 New Voters to just 79,777.

- Printing and Mailing a Paper Form requires Access to a Printer and Postage. Many Younger Citizens are more Comfortable with an Online Platform, and Many Older Citizens would have Trouble Downloading and/or Printing the Form.

- Young Citizens are the most likely to use an Online Voter Registration Form and are the most likely to Not be Registered. 37.4% of Eligible Young citizens are Not Registered to Vote, compared to 13% of All Eligible New Yorkers.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker