Requires that any ballot that is torn, bent, or otherwise damaged or defective shall be identified and set aside for duplication; provides that an election official or a set of witnesses shall examine such ballot to determine the voter's intention and mark up a new ballot marked "duplicate", bearing the same serial number as the damaged or defective ballot; makes related provisions.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5368
SPONSOR: Cunningham TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to damaged, defective or
duplicate ballots
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To allow for ballot duplication in the case of damaged or defective
ballots.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 is a ballot duplication provision. Any ballot that is torn,
bent, or otherwise damaged or defective shall be identified and set
aside for duplication. An election official who is part of an official
duplication team or accompanied by witnesses may duplicate the ballot.
The team or witnesses shall represent opposing political parties. Their
role is to determine the intention of the voter with the damaged ballot
and copy it into a new ballot that can be scanned and counted.
Section 2 states that this act will take effect on the first of January
next succeeding the date on which it becomes law.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
N/A
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, if a ballot is significantly damaged or defective, it cannot
be read by the vote tabulation machine and thus is not counted. Other
states have successfully implemented ballot duplication, whereby an
election official can determine the intent of the voter and copy their
vote onto a new ballot that can be scanned and counted. The official
will be part of a duplication team and/or supervised by witnesses which
represent opposing political parties. Given the rise in mail-in ballots
over the last several years, which can be damaged along their journey,
this ballot duplication provision is all the more necessary to ensure
that all votes are counted.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Minimal.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act will take effect on the first January 1 after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5368
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 13, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to damaged, defective or
duplicate ballots
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 8-316 of the election law is amended to read as
2 follows:
3 § 8-316. Ballots; [mutilated or spoiled] damaged, defective or dupli-
4 cative. 1. If a ballot is found to be damaged or defective [or mutilat-
5 ed] before it is delivered to the voter, its stub and the stubs of all
6 other ballots in the set shall be identified, detached immediately, and
7 placed in the box for stubs, by the clerks, or if there are no clerks by
8 the inspector assigned to the duty of delivering ballots, and all the
9 ballots of that set immediately shall be marked "cancelled", and placed
10 in the box for [spoiled and mutilated] damaged or defective ballots. If
11 a voter returns a ballot as damaged, defective, mutilated, defaced, or
12 wrongly marked, [he] such voter shall also return all the other ballots
13 of the set, if any, and such clerks or inspector shall likewise remove
14 their stubs, placing all the stubs in the box for stubs and all the
15 ballots of the set in the box for [spoiled or mutilated] damaged or
16 defective ballots, first marking the ballots "cancelled". In each case,
17 the voter shall receive another ballot or set of ballots, unless not
18 entitled thereto.
19 2. (a) In preparing the voted ballots for processing, any ballot that
20 is torn, bent, or otherwise damaged or defective shall be identified and
21 set aside for duplication.
22 (b) If necessary, a true duplicate copy of the defective ballot shall
23 be made and substituted therefor, by an election official who is part of
24 an official duplication team, or who is accompanied by witnesses. The
25 election official team or set of witnesses shall include members of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06622-01-5
A. 5368 2
1 opposing political parties. Such election official shall examine the
2 ballot to determine the intention of the voter insofar as it can be
3 ascertained from the defective ballot. The election official shall copy
4 the voter's choices from the original ballot onto a new ballot. All
5 duplicate ballots shall be clearly labeled "duplicate", and shall bear a
6 serial number that shall be recorded on the damaged or defective ballot,
7 showing which is the duplicate and which is the original ballot. Such
8 two ballots shall be connected and set aside with any other duplicated
9 ballots to be preserved as part of the election record.
10 (c) Once the duplicate ballot is executed, it shall be scanned by the
11 vote tabulation machine.
12 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
13 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
