Cost Estimate for New York Student Voter Empowerment Act
by
This memo estimates the annual statewide cost of implementing the Student Voter Empowerment Act (A.3954–A/S2056-A). The Act requires every public and private college or university campus in New York State to designate a Student Voting Coordinator and maintain a baseline set of nonpartisan voter outreach, voter education, and annual reporting activities.
Since the enactment of the 26th Amendment in 1971, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, colleges and universities have been important venues for voter registration and voting.
There are particular barriers to registration and voting for college students, many of whom are voting for the first time and reside away from home. This is reflected in voter data for youth voters, who, as a whole, consistently vote less frequently. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2024, voter turnout among 18–24 year olds was only 47.7%, 27 points behind the 65+ group (74.7%). In the 2022 midterms, there was an even greater gap, with only 27.6% of 18-24 year olds voting, nearly 40 points fewer than the turnout of the 65+ group (66.8%).
New York State does not fare well in the youth voter category. According to data compiled by Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, in the 2024 general election, New York had the lowest youth voter turnout rate in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with just 42% of young people (ages 18–29) casting ballots—compared to 47% nationally. Meanwhile, neighboring states like Pennsylvania and New Jersey saw significantly higher youth voter turnout, with 56% and 54% of young people casting ballots, respectively.
The proposed New York State Student Voter Empowerment Act systematizes, codifies, and expands civic engagement practices at colleges and universities that contribute to informed student electoral participation. This Act strengthens voter engagement on college campuses by requiring each institution to designate a Student Voting Coordinator to implement a two-year Student Voter Action Plan and organize at least three civic events annually. It ensures students receive election-related information through multiple channels (such as in-person high-traffic areas, email, text, social media, website), and standardizes student voter registration practices in collaboration with local election boards.
The Act builds on previous federal and state requirements. Colleges and universities are already involved in registering students to vote. Federally, the 1998 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 requires colleges to make “good faith effort to distribute a mail voter registration form … to each student enrolled in a degree or certificate program and physically in attendance at the institution, and to make such forms widely available to students at the institution” during years in which there are federal or gubernatorial elections.
New York State Election Law already requires all institutions of the State University of New York and the City University of New York to:
- Create a webpage for voter education that contains: an application for an early mail ballot; contact information for the appropriate county board of elections; a link to an application for an early mail ballot; and contact information for the administrator responsible for voter registration assistance on each campus.
- Provide an application for voter registration and an application for an early mail ballot to each student in each such institution.
- Provide an annual report to the state board of elections that includes, among other things, summaries of efforts the institution made to register voters, copies of website information, and data on student registrations.
The following study offers estimates of the cost of the Act for colleges and universities, drawing on previous studies in the state of California, which implemented a similar act, public information, and information provided by institutions and groups like ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. The study offers two outcomes, one based on the total cost of plan implementation across college campuses in New York, and one taking into consideration the investments by campuses that are already known to fulfill and/or exceed state and federal requirements. The study was conducted by Bard College’s Levy Economics Institute and the Bard Center for Civic Engagement in cooperation with GenVote.