Bill Text: NY S02385 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to construction of voting machines and systems.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S02385 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S02385-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2385

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 20, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  MYRIE,  ADDABBO,  BAILEY, BRESLIN, BROUK, CLEARE,
          COMRIE, COONEY, GIANARIS, HARCKHAM, HINCHEY,  HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  JACKSON,
          KAVANAGH,  KRUEGER,  MAY,  MAYER,  PARKER,  RIVERA,  SALAZAR, SKOUFIS,
          STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and  when  printed  to  be
          committed to the Committee on Elections

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the election law, in relation to construction of and
          requirements for voting machines and systems

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Section  7-104 of the election law is amended by adding a
     2  new subdivision 28 to read as follows:
     3    28. The ballot shall be  marked  or  printed  on  durable  paper.  For
     4  purposes of this section, "durable paper" is defined as paper capable of
     5  withstanding  multiple  counts  and  recounts by hand or machine without
     6  compromising the fundamental integrity of the ballots,  and  capable  of
     7  retaining  the  information marked or printed on such paper for the full
     8  duration of a retention and preservation period  set  forth  in  section
     9  3-222 of this chapter.
    10    § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 7-200 of the election law, as amended by
    11  chapter 181 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
    12    1.  The  board  of  elections of the city of New York and other county
    13  boards of elections may adopt any  kind  of  voting  machine  or  system
    14  approved  by  the state board of elections, or the use of which has been
    15  specifically authorized by law; and thereupon  such  voting  machine  or
    16  system  may  be  used  at  any or all elections and shall be used at all
    17  general or special elections held by such boards in such city,  town  or
    18  village  and in every contested primary election in the city of New York
    19  and in every contested primary election outside the city of New York  in
    20  which  there are one thousand or more enrolled voters qualified to vote.
    21  [No more than two types of voting machines or systems may be used by any
    22  local board of elections at  a  single  election.]  Notwithstanding  the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04070-01-3
        S. 2385                             2

     1  other  provisions  of this subdivision, any local board of elections may
     2  borrow or lease for use on an experimental basis for  a  period  of  not
     3  more than one year each, voting machines or systems of any type approved
     4  by the state board of elections.
     5    §  3. Paragraphs b, e, j, s and t of subdivision 1 of section 7-202 of
     6  the election law, as added by chapter 181  of  the  laws  of  2005,  are
     7  amended  and  three  new  paragraphs  u,  v  and  w are added to read as
     8  follows:
     9    b. permit a voter to vote for any person for any  office,  whether  or
    10  not  nominated  as a candidate by any party or independent body [without
    11  the ballot, or any part thereof, being removed from the machine  at  any
    12  time];
    13    e.  provide  the  voter  an opportunity to privately and independently
    14  mark and verify votes selected [and the] on an individual, voter-verifi-
    15  able paper ballot and the ability to privately and independently  change
    16  such  votes  or correct any error before the ballot is cast and counted,
    17  including by offering the voter a new paper ballot as many times  as  is
    18  allowed  by statute or regulation. For the purposes of this subdivision,
    19  the term "individual, voter-verifiable paper ballot" means either: (i) a
    20  paper ballot marked by the voter by hand; or (ii) a paper ballot  marked
    21  through  the use of a nontabulating ballot marking device or system. For
    22  the purposes of this title, a "ballot marking device" is a  device  that
    23  provides voters, including voters with disabilities, the ability to mark
    24  votes  on  physical,  paper ballots privately and independently. For the
    25  purposes of this title, a "nontabulating ballot  marking  device"  is  a
    26  ballot marking device that does not tabulate or transmit votes or retain
    27  any  record  of  a  voter's  selections,  other  than the original paper
    28  ballot, after the voter has finished marking the paper ballot and  using
    29  the device to review selections;
    30    j.  [retain all paper ballots cast or produce and retain a voter veri-
    31  fied permanent paper record which shall be presented to the  voter  from
    32  behind  a  window or other device before the ballot is cast,] for ballot
    33  scanners, retain paper ballots in a  manner  intended  and  designed  to
    34  protect  the  privacy  of  the  voter;  for nontabulating ballot marking
    35  devices, produce or process paper  ballots  in  a  manner  intended  and
    36  designed  to  protect the privacy of the voter; such ballots [or record]
    37  shall allow a manual audit and shall be preserved in accordance with the
    38  provisions of section 3-222 of this chapter;
    39    s. permit alternative language accessibility pursuant to the  require-
    40  ments  of  section  203  of  the  Voting  Rights  Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.
    41  1973aa-1a) such that it must have  the  capacity  to  display  the  full
    42  ballot  in  the  alternative  languages  required  by the federal Voting
    43  Rights Act if such voting machine or system is to  be  used  where  such
    44  alternative  languages  are required or where the local board deems such
    45  feature necessary; [and]
    46    t. not include any device  or  functionality  potentially  capable  of
    47  externally  transmitting or receiving data via the internet or via radio
    48  waves or via other wireless means[.];
    49    u. be constructed so that, after the  paper  ballot  is  cast  by  the
    50  voter, the voting machine or system never passes the cast ballot under a
    51  printer  that  can print votes onto the ballot, including as a result of
    52  unauthorized, malicious or faulty software or firmware;
    53    v. be constructed so the configuration or functionality  of  a  voting
    54  machine  or  system  does  not include, within the same physical device,
    55  both (i) ballot marking and (ii) tabulating or  transmitting  a  voter's
    56  selections  at any time or retaining any record of a voter's selections,
        S. 2385                             3

     1  other than the original paper ballot, after the voter has finished mark-
     2  ing the paper ballot and using the device to review selections; and
     3    w.  not encode votes on a ballot, whether as a barcode, QR code or any
     4  kind of recording code that cannot be  verified  by  the  voter  without
     5  using a code-reading device. For the purposes of this paragraph, a "code
     6  reading  device"  is a device that reads and translates coded marks like
     7  QR codes or barcodes into language that can be  understood  without  any
     8  kind of device.
     9    §  4.  Subdivision 4 of section 7-202 of the election law, as added by
    10  chapter 181 of the laws of 2005, is amended and a new subdivision  5  is
    11  added to read as follows:
    12    4.  Local boards of elections which obtain voting machines pursuant to
    13  this chapter [may determine to] shall purchase [direct  recording  elec-
    14  tronic  machines  or optical scan machines] ballot scanners and nontabu-
    15  lating ballot marking devices in conformance with  the  requirements  of
    16  this chapter.
    17    5.  Local boards of elections must provide every voter, at every poll-
    18  ing place, both of the following options:  (a)  to  hand  mark  a  paper
    19  ballot; or (b) to use a nontabulating ballot marking device or system to
    20  mark  a  paper ballot. All paper ballots must be printed, scannable, and
    21  include all relevant contests and candidates.
    22    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
    23  any  local  board of elections that purchased voting machines or systems
    24  prior to such date which are not in compliance with the requirements  of
    25  paragraph  u or v of subdivision 1 and subdivision 4 of section 7-202 of
    26  the election law, may continue to use, maintain and replace such  voting
    27  machines  and  systems,  but  may replace them only with identical model
    28  voting machines or systems made by the same manufacturer,  or  identical
    29  model  voting machines or systems with de minimis changes in such voting
    30  machines' or systems' hardware, software,  technical  data  package,  or
    31  data, the nature of which will not materially alter the voting machines'
    32  or systems' reliability, functionality, capability, or operation; any de
    33  minimis changes shall be approved by the state board of elections.