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.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5934C
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 propositions on the ballot.
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."
Clarifies 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. Removes a reference to a specific year.
JUSTIFICATION:
Paper ballots are the gold standard when it comes to voting technology.
For that reason, since 2009, federal election legislation, that has been
stymied in Senate due to the filibuster, has included provisions requir-
ing durable, paper ballots marked by hand or with a nontabulating ballot
marking device. 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, durable, voter-verifiable paper
ballots that allow voters to cast their votes privately and independent-
ly, even if counted by computerized vote tabulation systems. We live in
a time when many voters harbor suspicion about the accuracy of vote
counting. Requiring the use of the best available voting technology may
ameliorate that, while saving New York taxpayers considerable amounts of
money.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5934--C
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 24, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM, ANDERSON, PAULIN, SHIMSKY, BURGOS,
SEPTIMO, CRUZ, DE LOS SANTOS, SAYEGH, CARROLL, EPSTEIN, WOERNER,
STECK, SHRESTHA, THIELE, ARDILA, SIMONE, LEVENBERG, DINOWITZ, JACKSON,
SIMON, McDONALD, TAPIA, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, MAMDANI, CHANDLER-WATERMAN,
TAYLOR, JACOBSON, DAVILA, GALLAGHER -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Election Law -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee --
again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted
as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the
Committee on Election Law in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2
-- 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.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10156-11-4
A. 5934--C 2
1 § 3. Subdivision 26 of section 7-104 of the election law, as added by
2 chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
3 26. All paper ballots of the same kind for the same [polling place]
4 election district shall be identical. Each voter voting in a polling
5 place is entitled to the use of an individual, voter verifiable paper
6 ballot of the voter's vote and the opportunity to mark it privately and
7 independently. For the purposes of this title, the term "individual,
8 voter verifiable paper ballot" means a human readable paper ballot that
9 is either (a) marked by the voter by hand; or (b) marked through the use
10 of a nontabulating ballot marking device. Voters shall have both options
11 in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision available in every polling
12 place.
13 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 7-106 of the election law, as amended by
14 chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
15 3. All paper ballots of the same kind for the same [polling place]
16 election district shall be identical.
17 § 5. Voting machines and systems purchased prior to the effective date
18 of this act may continue to be used and maintained if they are designed
19 and constructed to utilize individual, voter-verifiable paper ballots.
20 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
