The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1115
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              January 7, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  PAULIN, GALEF, ABINANTI, DICKENS, GOTTFRIED,
   PICHARDO, REYES, J. RIVERA, SAYEGH, MONTESANO, SIMON, DeSTEFANO, COOK,
   EPSTEIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to construction of  voting
   machines and systems

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraphs s and t of subdivision 1 of section 7-202 of the
 election law, as added by chapter 181 of the laws of 2005,  are  amended
 and a new paragraph u is added to read as follows:
   s.  permit alternative language accessibility pursuant to the require-
 ments of section 203 of  the  Voting  Rights  Act  of  1965  (42  U.S.C.
 1973aa-1a)  such  that  it  must  have  the capacity to display the full
 ballot in the alternative  languages  required  by  the  federal  Voting
 Rights  Act  if  such  voting machine or system is to be used where such
 alternative languages are required or where the local board  deems  such
 feature necessary; [and]
   t.  not  include  any  device  or functionality potentially capable of
 externally transmitting or receiving data via the internet or via  radio
 waves or via other wireless means[.]; AND
   U.  BE  CONSTRUCTED  SO  THAT,  AFTER  THE PAPER BALLOT IS CAST BY THE
 VOTER, THE VOTING MACHINE OR SYSTEM NEVER PASSES THE CAST BALLOT UNDER A
 PRINTER THAT CAN PRINT VOTES ONTO THE BALLOT, INCLUDING AS A  RESULT  OF
 UNAUTHORIZED, MALICIOUS AND/OR FAULTY SOFTWARE AND/OR FIRMWARE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02135-01-1

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  1115--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              January 7, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  PAULIN, GALEF, ABINANTI, DICKENS, GOTTFRIED,
   PICHARDO, REYES, J. RIVERA, SAYEGH, MONTESANO, SIMON, DeSTEFANO, COOK,
   EPSTEIN, KELLES, McDONALD, WOERNER,  L. ROSENTHAL,  LUPARDO,  JACKSON,
   RAJKUMAR,  FORREST,  CARROLL,  BURDICK,  DINOWITZ,  BICHOTTE HERMELYN,
   THIELE,  ENGLEBRIGHT,  JACOBSON,  FAHY,  DURSO,  GALLAGHER,   MAMDANI,
   NORRIS,   TAGUE,   BURGOS,  DE LA ROSA,  ANDERSON,  BRABENEC,  TAYLOR,
   BARRETT, McDONOUGH -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. MIKULIN  --  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  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:
 
   Section 1. Paragraphs b, e, j, s and t of  subdivision  1  of  section
 7-202  of the election law, as added by chapter 181 of the laws of 2005,
 are amended and five new paragraphs u, v, w, x and y are added  to  read
 as follows:
   b.  permit  a  voter to vote for any person for any office, whether or
 not nominated as a candidate by any party or  independent  body  without
 the  ballot,  or any part thereof, being removed from the machine at any
 time AFTER THE BALLOT IS CAST;
   e. [provide the voter an opportunity to  privately  and  independently
 verify  votes  selected and the] REQUIRE THE USE OF AN INDIVIDUAL, DURA-
 BLE, VOTER-VERIFIABLE PAPER BALLOT OF THE VOTER'S  VOTE  THAT  SHALL  BE
 PRIVATELY  AND INDEPENDENTLY MARKED IN THE POLLING PLACE AND MADE AVAIL-
 ABLE FOR PRIVATE AND INDEPENDENT  INSPECTION  AND  VERIFICATION  BY  THE
 VOTER  BEFORE  THE VOTER'S VOTE IS CAST AND COUNTED, AND PROVIDE FOR THE
 VOTER'S ability to privately and  independently  change  such  votes  or
 correct any error before the ballot is cast and counted;

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02135-13-1

 A. 1115--A                          2
 
   j.  [retain all paper ballots cast or produce and retain a voter veri-
 fied permanent paper record which shall be presented to the  voter  from
 behind  a window or other device before the ballot is cast,] PRODUCE AND
 RETAIN A PAPER BALLOT WHICH CAN BE VERIFIED AND CAST BY THE VOTER  in  a
 manner  intended  and  designed  to  protect  the  privacy of the voter,
 INCLUDING STORING THE BALLOTS CAST IN RANDOM ORDER AND NOT  SEQUENTIALLY
 OR  CHRONOLOGICALLY  AS  CAST  BY VOTERS; such ballots [or record] shall
 allow a manual audit and shall  be  preserved  in  accordance  with  the
 provisions of section 3-222 of this chapter;
   s.  permit alternative language accessibility pursuant to the require-
 ments of section 203 of  the  Voting  Rights  Act  of  1965  (42  U.S.C.
 1973aa-1a)  such  that  it  must  have  the capacity to display the full
 ballot in the alternative  languages  required  by  the  federal  Voting
 Rights  Act  if  such  voting machine or system is to be used where such
 alternative languages are required or where the local board  deems  such
 feature necessary; [and]
   t.  not  include  any  device  or functionality potentially capable of
 externally transmitting or receiving data via the internet or via  radio
 waves or via other wireless means[.];
   U.  BE  CONSTRUCTED  SO  THAT,  AFTER  THE PAPER BALLOT IS CAST BY THE
 VOTER, THE VOTING MACHINE OR SYSTEM NEVER PASSES THE CAST BALLOT UNDER A
 PRINTER THAT CAN PRINT VOTES ONTO THE BALLOT, INCLUDING AS A  RESULT  OF
 UNAUTHORIZED,  MALICIOUS  OR  FAULTY SOFTWARE OR FIRMWARE, PROVIDED THAT
 MACHINES PURCHASED PRIOR TO JUNE  FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-ONE  MAY
 CONTINUE TO BE USED;
   V.  BE  CONSTRUCTED  SO THE CONFIGURATION OR FUNCTIONALITY OF A VOTING
 MACHINE OR SYSTEM DOES NOT INCLUDE BALLOT MARKING AND TABULATING  WITHIN
 THE SAME PHYSICAL DEVICE, PROVIDED THAT MACHINES PURCHASED PRIOR TO JUNE
 FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE MAY CONTINUE TO BE USED;
   W.  NOT UTILIZE, FOR THE PROCESS OF VOTE CASTING AND CANVASSING, A BAR
 CODE, MATRIX CODE OR ANY KIND OF RECORDING CODE THAT CANNOT BE  VERIFIED
 BY THE VOTER WITHOUT USING A CODE-READING DEVICE;
   X.  PERMIT  THE  COUNTING  OF BALLOTS BY HAND OR PERMIT THE READING OF
 BALLOTS WITH AN OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION DEVICE; AND
   Y. USE DURABLE PAPER BALLOTS PRINTED AND MANUFACTURED  IN  THE  UNITED
 STATES THAT ARE NOT PRINTED ON THERMAL PAPER.
   §  2.  Subdivision 4 of section 7-202 of the election law, as added by
 chapter 181 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
   4. Local boards of elections which obtain voting machines pursuant  to
 this  chapter  [may determine to] SHALL purchase [direct recording elec-
 tronic machines or]  optical  scan  machines  in  conformance  with  the
 requirements of this chapter.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  1115--B
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              January 7, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  PAULIN, GALEF, ABINANTI, DICKENS, GOTTFRIED,
   REYES, J. RIVERA, SAYEGH, SIMON,  DeSTEFANO,  COOK,  EPSTEIN,  KELLES,
   McDONALD,  WOERNER, L. ROSENTHAL, LUPARDO, JACKSON, RAJKUMAR, FORREST,
   CARROLL, BURDICK, DINOWITZ,  BICHOTTE HERMELYN,  THIELE,  ENGLEBRIGHT,
   JACOBSON,  FAHY,  DURSO,  GALLAGHER,  MAMDANI,  NORRIS, TAGUE, BURGOS,
   ANDERSON, BRABENEC,  TAYLOR,  BARRETT,  McDONOUGH,  ZINERMAN,  COLTON,
   CLARK,  SIMPSON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. MIKULIN -- read once
   and referred to the Committee on Election Law -- committee discharged,
   bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
   committee  --  recommitted to the Committee on Election Law in accord-
   ance with Assembly Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee  discharged,  bill
   amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
   tee
 
 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:
 
   Section 1. Section 7-104 of the election law is amended  by  adding  a
 new subdivision 28 to read as follows:
   28.  THE  BALLOT  SHALL  BE  MARKED  OR  PRINTED ON DURABLE PAPER. FOR
 PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "DURABLE PAPER" IS DEFINED AS PAPER CAPABLE OF
 WITHSTANDING MULTIPLE COUNTS AND RECOUNTS BY  HAND  OR  MACHINE  WITHOUT
 COMPROMISING  THE  FUNDAMENTAL  INTEGRITY OF THE BALLOTS, AND CAPABLE OF
 RETAINING THE INFORMATION MARKED OR PRINTED ON SUCH PAPER FOR  THE  FULL
 DURATION  OF  A  RETENTION  AND PRESERVATION PERIOD SET FORTH IN SECTION
 3-222 OF THIS CHAPTER.
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 7-200 of the election law, as amended by
 chapter 181 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
   1. The board of elections of the city of New  York  and  other  county
 boards  of  elections  may  adopt  any  kind of voting machine or system
 approved by the state board of elections, or the use of which  has  been
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02135-26-2

 A. 1115--B                          2
 
 specifically  authorized  by  law;  and thereupon such voting machine or
 system may be used at any or all elections and  shall  be  used  at  all
 general  or  special elections held by such boards in such city, town or
 village  and in every contested primary election in the city of New York
 and in every contested primary election outside the city of New York  in
 which  there are one thousand or more enrolled voters qualified to vote.
 [No more than two types of voting machines or systems may be used by any
 local board of elections at  a  single  election.]  Notwithstanding  the
 other  provisions  of this subdivision, any local board of elections may
 borrow or lease for use on an experimental basis for  a  period  of  not
 more than one year each, voting machines or systems of any type approved
 by the state board of elections.
   §  3. Paragraphs b, e, j, s and t of subdivision 1 of section 7-202 of
 the election law, as added by chapter 181  of  the  laws  of  2005,  are
 amended  and  three  new  paragraphs  u,  v  and  w are added to read as
 follows:
   b. permit a voter to vote for any person for any  office,  whether  or
 not  nominated  as a candidate by any party or independent body [without
 the ballot, or any part thereof, being removed from the machine  at  any
 time];
   e.  provide  the  voter  an opportunity to privately and independently
 verify votes selected [and the] ON AN INDIVIDUAL, VOTER-VERIFIABLE PAPER
 BALLOT AND THE ability to privately and independently change such  votes
 or correct any error before the ballot is cast and counted, INCLUDING BY
 OFFERING  THE  VOTER  A  NEW PAPER BALLOT AS MANY TIMES AS IS ALLOWED BY
 STATUTE OR REGULATION. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS  SUBDIVISION,  THE  TERM
 "INDIVIDUAL,  VOTER-VERIFIABLE  PAPER  BALLOT" MEANS EITHER: (I) A PAPER
 BALLOT MARKED BY THE VOTER BY  HAND;  OR  (II)  A  PAPER  BALLOT  MARKED
 THROUGH  THE USE OF A NONTABULATING BALLOT MARKING DEVICE OR SYSTEM. FOR
 THE PURPOSES OF THIS TITLE, A "BALLOT MARKING DEVICE" IS A  DEVICE  THAT
 PROVIDES VOTERS, INCLUDING VOTERS WITH DISABILITIES, THE ABILITY TO MARK
 VOTES  ON  PHYSICAL,  PAPER BALLOTS PRIVATELY AND INDEPENDENTLY. FOR THE
 PURPOSES OF THIS TITLE, A "NONTABULATING BALLOT  MARKING  DEVICE"  IS  A
 BALLOT MARKING DEVICE THAT DOES NOT TABULATE VOTES;
   j.  [retain all paper ballots cast or produce and retain a voter veri-
 fied permanent paper record which shall be presented to the  voter  from
 behind  a  window or other device before the ballot is cast,] FOR BALLOT
 SCANNERS, RETAIN PAPER BALLOTS IN A  MANNER  INTENDED  AND  DESIGNED  TO
 PROTECT  THE  PRIVACY  OF  THE  VOTER;  FOR NONTABULATING BALLOT MARKING
 DEVICES, PRODUCE OR PROCESS PAPER  BALLOTS  in  a  manner  intended  and
 designed  to  protect the privacy of the voter; such ballots [or record]
 shall allow a manual audit and shall be preserved in accordance with the
 provisions of section 3-222 of this chapter;
   s. permit alternative language accessibility pursuant to the  require-
 ments  of  section  203  of  the  Voting  Rights  Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.
 1973aa-1a) such that it must have  the  capacity  to  display  the  full
 ballot  in  the  alternative  languages  required  by the federal Voting
 Rights Act if such voting machine or system is to  be  used  where  such
 alternative  languages  are required or where the local board deems such
 feature necessary; [and]
   t. not include any device  or  functionality  potentially  capable  of
 externally  transmitting or receiving data via the internet or via radio
 waves or via other wireless means[.];
   U. BE CONSTRUCTED SO THAT, AFTER THE  PAPER  BALLOT  IS  CAST  BY  THE
 VOTER, THE VOTING MACHINE OR SYSTEM NEVER PASSES THE CAST BALLOT UNDER A
 A. 1115--B                          3
 
 PRINTER  THAT  CAN PRINT VOTES ONTO THE BALLOT, INCLUDING AS A RESULT OF
 UNAUTHORIZED, MALICIOUS OR FAULTY SOFTWARE OR FIRMWARE;
   V.  BE  CONSTRUCTED  SO THE CONFIGURATION OR FUNCTIONALITY OF A VOTING
 MACHINE OR SYSTEM DOES NOT INCLUDE, WITHIN  THE  SAME  PHYSICAL  DEVICE,
 BOTH (I) BALLOT MARKING AND (II) SCANNING OR TABULATING; AND
   W.  NOT ENCODE VOTES ON A BALLOT, WHETHER AS A BARCODE, QR CODE OR ANY
 KIND OF RECORDING CODE THAT CANNOT BE  VERIFIED  BY  THE  VOTER  WITHOUT
 USING A CODE-READING DEVICE. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS PARAGRAPH, A "CODE
 READING  DEVICE"  IS A DEVICE THAT READS AND TRANSLATES CODED MARKS LIKE
 QR CODES OR BARCODES INTO LANGUAGE THAT CAN BE  UNDERSTOOD  WITHOUT  ANY
 KIND OF DEVICE.
   §  4.  Subdivision 4 of section 7-202 of the election law, as added by
 chapter 181 of the laws of 2005, is amended and a new subdivision  5  is
 added to read as follows:
   4.  Local boards of elections which obtain voting machines pursuant to
 this chapter [may determine to] SHALL purchase [direct  recording  elec-
 tronic  machines  or optical scan machines] BALLOT SCANNERS AND NONTABU-
 LATING BALLOT MARKING DEVICES in conformance with  the  requirements  of
 this chapter.
   5.  LOCAL BOARDS OF ELECTIONS MUST PROVIDE EVERY VOTER, AT EVERY POLL-
 ING PLACE, BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS:  (A)  TO  HAND  MARK  A  PAPER
 BALLOT; OR (B) TO USE A NONTABULATING BALLOT MARKING DEVICE OR SYSTEM TO
 MARK  A  PAPER BALLOT. ALL PAPER BALLOTS MUST BE PRINTED, SCANNABLE, AND
 INCLUDE ALL RELEVANT CONTESTS AND CANDIDATES.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 any  local  board of elections that purchased voting machines or systems
 prior to such date which are not in compliance with the requirements  of
 paragraph  u or v of subdivision 1 and subdivision 4 of section 7-202 of
 the election law, may continue to use, maintain and replace such  voting
 machines  and  systems,  but  may replace them only with identical model
 voting machines or systems made by the same manufacturer,  or  identical
 model  voting machines or systems with de minimis changes in such voting
 machines' or systems' hardware, software,  technical  data  package,  or
 data, the nature of which will not materially alter the voting machines'
 or systems' reliability, functionality, capability, or operation; any de
 minimis changes shall be approved by the state board of elections.