MAYVILLE – Sixteen and seventeen year old voters will legally pre-register to vote in New York State starting Jan. 1, 2020 due to voter enfranchisement laws passed in 2019 by the New York State Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
“It makes a ton of sense,” said Chautauqua County Board of Elections Democratic Election Commissioner Norman P. Green. “Young adults getting a driver’s license learners permit at 16 or 17 will now be able to register to vote.”
“The Board of Elections already pre-registers 17-year olds who turn 18 on or before Election Day,” added Republican Election Commissioner Brian C. Abram. “So the system is already in place to handle the pre-registration of voters. Before the young adults are added to the election rolls, we mail a non-forward able voter acknowledgment post card to their voting address to make sure they are still residing at the address where they pre-registered to vote in the county.”
Green and Abram also announced that the Board of Elections would no longer visit schools to register young voters due to the law change and a recent push back of these visits by some school districts.
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