5-306. Enrollment; correction of. 1. If, after being regularly registered in an election district, a voter discovers he has made a mistake when enrolling, he may within one year from the date of his last registration apply to the board of elections of the county or city in which he resides for a correction of the mistake made by him when marking his enrollment blank, by filing his affidavit setting forth substantially as follows: how he is enrolled, and the town or city, election district, and when required, the ward or assembly district, in which he is registered, the street address, if any, from which he was registered, a statement, in substance, that his current enrollment blank was not marked correctly and that he did not intend to be so enrolled; the name of the party with which he did intend to enroll and which he desires to be entered on the registration records; a statement that he has been duly and regularly enrolled with the party whose name he desires entered on his registration records for at least five years immediately preceding the registration at which such mistake occurred or that he was not registered for all or part of such five year period; the county or counties and the addresses at which he resided when he was so enrolled; that he is in general sympathy with the principles of the party with which he requests to be enrolled and intends to support generally its nominees at the next general election, and a statement that he has not enrolled in any party or participated in any primary election or convention of any party during the past five years, other than the one with which he requests to be enrolled.
2. If the applicant's certificate or, the registration records in the office of such board show the applicant to have been registered during such five year period elsewhere in the state of New York the board shall require the applicant to produce a certified transcript of his enrollment, if any, in such other jurisdiction within the state accompanied with proof, by affidavit, showing his identity with the person whose name appears in such transcript. If the records of any board of elections within the state show the applicant to have been enrolled during such five year period in any party other than the one with which he requests to be enrolled, or to have been registered but not enrolled, the application for correction of enrollment shall be denied.
3. A voter may correct his enrollment pursuant hereto on any of the days the board is open for registration. A correction made during the twenty-five-day period preceding a primary election shall not be effective for such election.
4. Where such application for correction of enrollment is approved, the board of elections shall enter the date of filing of the voter's affidavit along with the new party of enrollment in the spaces provided for entering enrollments on the back of his registration poll record or in the computer file from which the computer generated registration lists are prepared and the words "Enrollment Corrected" shall be entered in the remarks space therein. If requested by any member of the board, the correction of enrollment of any voter, or group of voters, must be approved by two such board members or two employees of the board representing different political parties. Such members or employees shall place their initials or other identifying information on the registration poll record of such voter, or on a computer generated list of such corrections of enrollment. Such lists shall be preserved in the same manner, and for the same time, as such registration poll records. The board shall file such affidavit in a file specially maintained for that purpose.
Last modified: February 3, 2019