The majority Democrats in the state Senate are reviving their effort to bring automatic voter registration to New York.
It would be the second-biggest state to adopt the system, after California. Fourteen other states and Washington, D.C., have also done so, in each case boosting turnout. Under AVR, as it's dubbed, an adult citizen's name is automatically added to the voter rolls interacting with a state government agency – most typically the one that issues driver's licenses – unless the person chooses to opt out.
"Automatic voter registration is a straightforward and evidenced-backed policy that would remove barriers between voters and the ballot box and make it easier for people to make their voices heard," the chairman of the Senate Elections Committee, Brooklyn Democrat Zellnor Myrie, said in announcing a hearing will be held after Memorial Day.
This year Democrats are running both legislative chambers in Albany for the first time in a decade and have already passed several measures designed to increase the state's historically low turnout. The measures expanded early voting, permitted Election Day registration, consolidated state and local primary days and modernized voting equipment.
Carmen De Backer is photographed at 5 years old with binoculars hanging from her neck. De Backer, now 16 and co-lead of the Tucson team of the Arizona Youth Climate Council ,was “always a big adventurer” whose love for wildlife and the outdoors has stayed with her through her teenage years as she fights to address climate change. Photo courtesy of Carmen De Backer.
Ward 5 council member Selina Barajas (left) and Rep. Adelita Grijalva met with Arizona youth Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 at El Pueblo Activity Center to discuss the impacts of climate change and listen to how extreme heat affects their young constituents. 
Gabriel Sadza, a sophomore at University High School, shares a story about having to practice for the marching band inside the school gym with no AC. Sadza was one of more than a dozen Arizona teens who participated in a conversation about extreme heat with council member Selina Barajas (left) and Rep. Adelita Grijalva (center, seated) on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 at El Pueblo Activity Center. 
