2014. Registration of voters. 1. In any union free school district, the board of education may upon its own motion provide for the personal registration of voters at school meetings or elections in such district as provided in this section.
In such event, the board of education in such district shall immediately designate four qualified voters of such district to constitute a board of registration for such district to serve until the thirtieth day following the next annual meeting or election of such district. Thereafter, the board of education of such district shall annually designate, not later than the thirtieth day following the annual meeting or election of such district, four qualified voters of such district to constitute a board of registration for such district. Such members of the board of registration so appointed shall serve until the thirtieth day after the annual meeting or election of such district in the following year. In the event that a vacancy shall occur on the board of registration, the board of education at any time may designate a qualified voter of such district as a member of the board of registration for such district to fill the vacancy.
Each member of the board of registration shall be entitled to compensation at a rate to be fixed by the board of education for each day actually and necessarily spent upon the duties of his office.
2. The board of registration of such district shall meet during the annual meeting or election of such district at the place where such annual meeting or election is held for the purpose of preparing a register for meetings or elections held subsequent to such annual meeting or election. Such board of registration of such district shall, in addition, meet on such day or days as shall be fixed by the board of education, the last day of which, however, shall not be more than fourteen nor less than five days preceding each school meeting or election in such district at such place in the school district, and at such hours, as the board of education shall by resolution designate, which hours shall include at least four consecutive hours between seven o'clock in the morning and eight o'clock in the evening, for the purpose of preparing a register for such meeting or election provided, however, that at any annual meeting the majority of the voters may adopt a resolution authorizing the registration of voters during the hours for enrollment of children for a school term; provided further, however, that such voters may also authorize registration during certain specified hours of the school day, at the office of the district clerk or business office of the school district by the district clerk, assistant district clerk or a member of the board of registration. Such registration shall not take place less than five days preceding any school meeting or election. Such registration shall be effective to include the next annual meeting and shall take place at the school or schools within the district designated in the resolution. The register shall, so far as practical, be in the same form as the register of voters in an election district for general elections in a city or village having five thousand inhabitants or more, under the election law. The register shall be arranged alphabetically by the surnames, and the place of residence by street and number or otherwise of each person named on the list shall be given, or if none, some description accurately locating such place of residence shall be given on such register. In addition, the register shall have a column or columns in which the inspectors of election may indicate whether each person named on the list shall have voted in any election or elections or at any meeting or meetings. The district clerk of such district shall attend with the board of registration. The board of registration and the district clerk, shall, for the annual meeting or election of the school district, prepare a register of the qualified voters of such school district who shall present themselves personally for registration. Such board of registration shall in like manner prepare a register for each special school meeting or election within such school district, except that the register prepared at the last annual meeting or election and the register or registers for any subsequent special meeting, meetings, election, or elections in such school district shall be used by them as the basis therefor. The register so prepared shall include all persons who shall have presented themselves personally for registration in accordance herewith and may include all persons who shall have been previously registered hereunder for any annual or special meeting or election and who shall have voted at any annual or special meeting or any election held or conducted during the four calendar years prior to the year in which such register is being prepared; and the board of registration shall remove from the register all persons who are known to be deceased, who have moved out of the school district or who are otherwise not qualified as school district electors. The district clerk shall furnish the necessary blank books and blanks at the expense of such school district. School meetings and elections in such school district shall be thereafter conducted in the manner provided by this chapter, except that no person shall be entitled to vote thereat whose name does not appear upon the register of the school district in which he claims to be entitled to vote. In all cases, the board of education shall cause the district clerk to give the notice required by subdivision four of section two thousand four of this chapter.
3. The board of education may, upon its own motion and at least two months prior to a school district meeting or election at which the same is to be effective, revoke the provisions for personal registration adopted as provided in this section. However, the board of education may not thereafter provide for personal registration unless authorized by the voters at a district meeting or election.
4. Whenever any union free school district in which personal registration of voters at school meetings or elections therein is required as provided in subdivision one of this section shall have been divided into election districts pursuant to section two thousand seventeen of this chapter, the board of education shall appoint a board of registration pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one of this section consisting of as many members as shall provide two for each election district, shall designate a place in each such election district and shall designate two members of the board of registration to attend thereat for the purpose of preparing a register for such election district. At the same time, the board of education shall designate the registration place at which the district clerk shall attend. The provisions of subdivisions one, two and three of this section shall apply with respect to the registration of voters in such union free school districts, except as may be inconsistent with the foregoing provisions of this subdivision, and except that the notice provided to be given by the district clerk in subdivision two of this section and subdivision five and six of section two thousand four of this chapter shall describe each of the election districts as required in subdivision two of section two thousand seventeen and subdivision six of section two thousand four of this chapter.
5. The provisions of this section shall not apply with respect to any person registered to vote pursuant to the provisions of section three hundred fifty-two of the election law.
6. In any case where a union free school district has provided for the registration of voters during specified hours of the school day at the office of the district clerk, assistant clerk or a member of the board of registration, such school district's board of registration, at the discretion of the board of education, may not be required to meet prior to the annual meeting or election, or prior to a special meeting or special election pursuant to subdivision two of this section, solely for the purposes of registering voters.
Last modified: February 3, 2019