NY State Senate Bill 2023-S2961

Senate Bill S2961

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Requires the board of elections or a bipartisan committee to conduct a risk-limiting audit of voter verifiable audit records

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to elections
Jan 26, 2023	referred to elections

co-Sponsors

2023-S2961 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3738
Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §9-211, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S7144
2019-2020: S2329
2021-2022: S2853, A7348

2023-S2961 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the board of elections or a bipartisan committee appointed by such board to conduct a risk-limiting audit of voter verifiable audit records from voting machines or systems within the jurisdiction of such board.

2023-S2961 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2961

SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to conducting risk-limit-
ing audits

 
PURPOSE:

To require the State Board of Elections (BOE) to improve the reliability
of post-election audits to limit the risk of certifying an incorrect
outcome.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Election Law 9-211 is amended by requiring the New York State Board of
Elections or a bipartisan committee to conduct a risk-limiting audit of
at least three percent of voter verifiable audit records after
elections. The BOE shall promulgate regulations for the use of risk-lim-
iting audits and such regulations shall make use of statistical methods
and be designed to limit the risk of certifying an incorrect outcome.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Post-election audits are intended to ensure the accuracy of results by
checking a portion of the paper ballots against electronic vote tallies.
Under current law, three percent of voting machines are audited in every
race. However, this minimal standard is widely recognized to be too lax
to verify results in close elections. The only other method for verify-
ing results in close elections in current law is a full recount.

This bill provides flexibility to the the BOE or a committee appointed
by such board to audit at least three percent to permit the BOE to veri-
fy the outcome of elections with a high degree of reliability and limit-
ed cost. Along with three percent standard, the number of voting records
selected to be audited would be based on a formula determined by the
bipartisan BOE before the election. In elections in which a small margin
separated the apparent winner from the other candidates, more ballots
would be audited; in elections with a wide margin fewer ballots would be
audited.

This method, known as a "risk-limiting audit," has several major bene-
fits. First, it decreases the chances of a candidate being declared the
winner improperly. This both increases voters' confidence in election
results and minimizes the probability of a candidate who should have
lost an election assuming office due to voting machines being hacked, or
otherwise tampered with, or malfunctioning. In addition to increasing
accuracy, risk-limiting audits also improve efficiency by allocating
resources where they are needed to ensure the integrity of the results
and reducing wasteful spending on audits that have little or no chance
of altering the result. Lastly, risk-limiting audits reduce post-elec-
tion partisan fighting by ensuring that the vote tallies are thoroughly
vetted automatically in races where the losing candidate might otherwise
question the results or call for a recount.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S2853 (Kavanagh) / A7348 (Galef) - ELECTIONS/election law
2021: S2853 (Kavanagh) / A7348 (Galef) - ELECTIONS/election law

2020: S2329A (Kavanagh) - ELECTIONS

2019: S2329A (Kavanagh) - ELECTIONS/REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE

2018: S7144 (Kavanagh)/A10241 (Galef) - Elections/ Election Law

 
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:

Some costs associated with the development and implementation of the
regulations required by this legislation.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that section
one of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2024.

2023-S2961 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2961
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 26, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. KAVANAGH, MAYER -- 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 conducting  risk-limit-
   ing audits
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 9-211  of  the  election  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  763  of  the  laws  of 2021, is amended to read as
 follows:
   1. (A) Within fifteen days after each  general  or  special  election,
 within thirteen days after every primary election, and within seven days
 after  every  village  election conducted by the board of elections, the
 board of elections or a bipartisan committee  appointed  by  such  board
 shall  CONDUCT  A  RISK-LIMITING audit, WHICH WILL INCLUDE A HAND-TO-EYE
 REVIEW OF AT LEAST THREE PERCENT OF the voter verifiable  [audit]  PAPER
 records  [from  three  percent  of voting machines or systems within the
 jurisdiction of such board. Such audits may be performed manually or via
 the use of any automated tool authorized for such use by the state board
 of elections which is independent from the voting  system  it  is  being
 used  to  audit.  Voting machines or systems shall be selected for audit
 through a random, manual process] IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  THE  REGULATIONS
 PROMULGATED  PURSUANT  TO PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. IN ADDITION
 TO SUCH AUDIT AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SAME PROCEDURES  THE  BOARD  OF
 ELECTIONS  SHALL    AUDIT  THE VOTER VERIFIABLE AUDIT RECORDS FROM THREE
 PERCENT OF VOTING MACHINES OR SYSTEMS WITHIN THE  JURISDICTION  OF  SUCH
 BOARD.  At  least five days prior to the time fixed for such [selection]
 RISK-LIMITING AUDIT process, the board of elections shall send notice by
 first class mail to each candidate, political party and independent body
 entitled to have had watchers present  at  the  polls  in  any  election
 district  in such board's jurisdiction. Such notice shall state the time
 and place fixed for such [random selection process] RISK-LIMITING AUDIT.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07209-01-3

 S. 2961                             2
 
 The audit shall be conducted in the same manner, to the extent  applica-
 ble,  as  a canvass of paper ballots. Each candidate, political party or
 independent body entitled to appoint watchers to  attend  at  a  polling
 place  shall  be  entitled to appoint such number of watchers to observe
 the audit.
   (B) THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL PROMULGATE REGULATIONS FOR  THE
 IMPLEMENTATION OF RISK-LIMITING AUDITS REQUIRED BY PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS
 SUBDIVISION.  THE  NUMBER OF VOTER VERIFIABLE AUDIT RECORDS SELECTED FOR
 SUCH AUDITS SHALL BE DETERMINED PURSUANT TO SUCH REGULATIONS  THAT  MAKE
 USE  OF STATISTICAL METHODS AND ARE DESIGNED TO LIMIT THE RISK OF CERTI-
 FYING AN INCORRECT OUTCOME, BUT SHALL BE AT LEAST THREE PERCENT  OF  ALL
 BALLOTS CAST.
   (C) AS USED IN THIS SECTION: (I) "RISK-LIMITING AUDIT" MEANS A POST-E-
 LECTION  PROCESS  SUCH  THAT,  IF THE REPORTED OUTCOME OF THE CONTEST IS
 INCORRECT, THERE IS AT LEAST A NINETY   PERCENT CHANCE  THAT  THE  AUDIT
 WILL  REPLACE  THE  INCORRECT OUTCOME WITH THE CORRECT OUTCOME AS DETER-
 MINED BY A FULL, HAND-TO-EYE TABULATION OF ALL  VOTES  VALIDLY  CAST  IN
 THAT ELECTION CONTEST THAT ASCERTAINS VOTER INTENT MANUALLY AND DIRECTLY
 FROM VOTER-VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORDS.
   (II) "REPORTED OUTCOME" MEANS THE OUTCOME OF AN ELECTION CONTEST WHICH
 IS  DETERMINED  ACCORDING TO THE CANVASS AND WHICH WILL BECOME THE OFFI-
 CIAL, CERTIFIED OUTCOME UNLESS IT IS REVISED BY AN  AUDIT,  RECOUNT,  OR
 OTHER LEGAL PROCESS.
   (III)  "INCORRECT  OUTCOME"  MEANS  AN  OUTCOME  THAT DIFFERS FROM THE
 OUTCOME THAT WOULD BE DETERMINED BY  A  FULL  TABULATION  OF  ALL  VOTES
 VALIDLY  CAST IN THAT ELECTION CONTEST, DETERMINING VOTER INTENT MANUAL-
 LY, DIRECTLY FROM VOTER-VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORDS.
   (IV) "OUTCOME" MEANS THE WINNER OR  SET  OF  WINNERS  OF  AN  ELECTION
 CONTEST, WHICH MIGHT BE CANDIDATES OR POSITIONS.
   §  2. County boards of elections are authorized to conduct risk-limit-
 ing audit pilots. Any board conducting a pilot audit  shall  notify  the
 New York state board of elections. The New York state board of elections
 must provide a report to the state legislature on June 30, 2025 with the
 findings from the risk-limiting audits conducted through March 31, 2025.
   §  3.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
 section one of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2026.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S2961

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Brian Kavanagh