•  Summary 
  •  
  •  Actions 
  •  
  •  Committee Votes 
  •  
  •  Floor Votes 
  •  
  •  Memo 
  •  
  •  Text 
  •  
  •  LFIN 
  •  
  •  Chamber Video/Transcript 

A05934 Summary:

BILL NOA05934A
 
SAME ASSAME AS S06169-A
 
SPONSORCunningham
 
COSPNSRAnderson, Paulin, Shimsky, Burgos, Septimo, Cruz, De Los Santos, Sayegh, Carroll, Epstein, Woerner, Steck, Shrestha, Thiele, Ardila, Simone, Levenberg, Dinowitz
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §§1-104, 7-104 & 7-106, El L
 
Enacts the "voting integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)"; provides that each voter is entitled to the use of an individual, voter verifiable paper ballot of the voter's vote and the opportunity to mark it privately and independently.
Go to top

A05934 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A5934A
 
SPONSOR: Cunningham
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the election law, in relation to enacting the "voting integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)"   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To give voters the option, at every polling place, to mark a paper ballot by hand or with a nontabulating ballot marking device. To change the phrase "polling place" to "election district" in two statutes requiring identical ballots in every polling place because ballots may not be able to be identical in every election district in a polling place due to differing contests or ballot proposals on the ballot. This bill would guarantee that all voters can verify the selections on their ballots.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 provides that this act shall be known and may be cited as the "Voting Integrity and Verification Act of New York" (VIVA NY). Section 2 adds new subdivisions 40 and 41 to section 1-104 of the election law, which define the terms "nontabulating ballot marking device" and "human readable paper ballot." Section 3 replaces the term "polling place" with "election district" in subdivision 26 of section 7-104 of the election law. The same subdivi- sion requires all voters to be given a choice to mark a paper ballot in their polling place either by hand or by using a nontabulating ballot marking device that prints a human readable ballot. It provides that voting machines or systems purchased prior to the effective date of the bill may continue to be used and maintained if they are designed and constructed to utilize individual, voter-verifiable paper ballots. Section 4 replaces the term "polling place" with "election district" in subdivision 3 of section 7-106 of the election law. Section 5 provides for an immediate effective date.   DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE): Amends the definition of "nontabulating ballot marking device." Adds an additional subdivision 41 to define "human readable paper ballot." Clar- ifies the meaning of 'opportunity to mark one's ballot privately and independently.' Clarifies which machines may remain in use after the enactment of this law.   JUSTIFICATION: Election experts agree that voters who are able to mark a ballot by hand must retain that option. To provide our voters with confidence that their cast ballot will unquestionably and accountably reflect their preference and only their preference, New York has instituted many common sense reforms, like insisting on individual, voter-verifiable paper ballots that help ensure voters can cast their votes privately, independently, and securely, even if counted by computerized vote tabu- lation systems. We live in a time when many voters harbor suspicion about the accuracy of vote counting. Requiring the use of the most reliable ballots may ameliorate that problem.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately upon passage, except that voting machines and systems purchased prior to the effective date of this legislation may continue to be used and maintained if they are designed and constructed to utilize individual, voter-verifiable paper ballots.
Go to top

A05934 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         5934--A
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     March 24, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  CUNNINGHAM  -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Election  Law  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend the election law, in relation to enacting the "voting
          integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)"

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  This  act  shall be known and may be cited as the "voting
     2  integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)".
     3    § 2. Section 1-104 of the election law is amended by  adding  two  new
     4  subdivisions 40 and 41 to read as follows:
     5    40.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the term "nontabulat-
     6  ing ballot marking device" means a voting machine that cannot  and  does
     7  not  count  or transmit votes and does not retain any official record of
     8  the voters' selections, but can mark or  print  voters'  selections  and
     9  have  those  selections printed on an individual, voter verifiable paper
    10  ballot.
    11    41. The term "human readable paper ballot" means a paper ballot  where
    12  all  the candidates, ballot proposals and selections that could be tabu-
    13  lated are readable without assistance, other than  eyeglasses  or  other
    14  standard personal vision enhancing devices.
    15    § 3.  Subdivision 26 of section 7-104 of the election law, as added by
    16  chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
    17    26.  All  paper  ballots of the same kind for the same [polling place]
    18  election district shall be identical. Each voter  voting  in  a  polling
    19  place  is  entitled  to the use of an individual, voter verifiable paper
    20  ballot of the voter's vote and the opportunity to mark it privately  and
    21  independently.    For  the purposes of this title, the term "individual,
    22  voter verifiable paper ballot" means a human readable paper ballot  that
    23  is  either  (a) a marked by the voter by hand; or (b) marked through the
    24  use of a nontabulating ballot marking device.  Voters  shall  have  both
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10156-02-3

        A. 5934--A                          2
 
     1  options in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision available in every
     2  polling  place. Voting machines purchased prior to the effective date of
     3  the chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty-three that  amended  this
     4  subdivision  may continue to be used and maintained if they are designed
     5  and constructed to utilize individual, voter verifiable paper ballots.
     6    § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 7-106 of the election law as amended  by
     7  chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
     8    3.  All  paper  ballots  of the same kind for the same [polling place]
     9  election district shall be identical.
    10    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
Go to top