2019 New York Laws
ELN - Election
Article 5 - Registration and Enrollment of Voters
Title 6 - Filing and Custody of Registration Records
5-614 - Statewide Voter Registration List.

§  5-614.  Statewide  voter  registration  list. 1. There shall be one
official record of the registration of each voter. Such record shall  be
maintained   in   an   interactive,   statewide,   computerized,   voter
registration  list.  Such  statewide  voter  registration   list   shall
constitute  the  official list of voters for the state of New York. Such
list shall be in the  custody  of  the  state  board  of  elections  and
administered  and maintained by the state board of elections, subject to
rules and regulations promulgated by the state  board  of  elections  in
accordance with subdivision four of section 3-100 of this chapter. Local
boards  of  elections  shall  comply  with all the rules and regulations
promulgated by the state board of elections pursuant to this section.
  2. The official statewide voter registration list shall be created  by
combining  the existing voter registration list maintained by each local
board of elections into a single integrated list.  The  state  board  of
elections,  pursuant  to  subdivision  four  of  section  3-100  of this
chapter, shall promulgate rules and regulations, which shall be  binding
upon  each  local  board  of elections, concerning the combining of each
existing voter registration list into a  single  integrated  list.  Such
rules   and  regulations  shall  be  designed,  to  the  maximum  extent
practicable, to allow each local board of elections to continue  to  use
its  existing  computer  infrastructure,  computer software and database
applications to access data from and  transmit  data  to  the  statewide
voter  registration  list.  To  create  such  list,  each local board of
elections shall transmit to the state board  of  elections  a  certified
copy  of  the  voter registration records of such board in an electronic
format prescribed by the state board of elections. The  state  board  of
elections  shall on an ongoing basis compile such records from the local
boards of elections  into  a  statewide  voter  registration  list.  The
computer   infrastructure   of   such   list  shall  be  maintained  and
administered by the state board of elections and such  board  shall,  in
accordance  with  subdivision  four  of  section  3-100 of this chapter,
promulgate uniform rules and regulations for the  maintenance  of  voter
registration records not inconsistent with this chapter. The state board
of  elections shall make accessible to each local board of elections the
statewide voter registration list. Such list shall be  maintained  in  a
computerized form which permits different user interfaces.
  3. The statewide voter registration list shall:
  a.  serve  as  the single system for storing and managing the official
list of registered voters throughout the state  which  local  boards  of
elections  shall  use  for  creating the computer generated registration
list prepared for each election for each election district  as  provided
by this chapter;
  b.  contain  the  name  and  registration information of every legally
registered voter in the state, as provided  by  section  5-500  of  this
article  and  such  other  information as may be deemed necessary by the
state board of elections in accordance with subdivision four of  section
3-100 of this chapter;
  c.  contain  a  unique identifier for each legally registered voter in
the state;
  d.  be  coordinated  and  referenced  with  other  state  and  federal
identification records;
  e.  provide  timely  electronic  access  to  the information contained
therein to election officials;
  f. provide that all voter registration information obtained by a local
board of elections shall be electronically entered into such list on  an
expedited basis at the time the information is provided to such board;

  g.  ensure  that the state board of elections provides such support as
may be required so that local boards of elections are able to enter  the
information described in paragraph f of this subdivision;
  h.  serve  as  the official voter registration list for the conduct of
all elections in the state which are administered  by  local  boards  of
elections; and
  i.  allow  local  boards  of  elections,  using  their own systems, to
perform essential  election  functions  including  but  not  limited  to
processing  of  absentee  voters,  administration  of  poll  workers and
polling places, assignment of election jurisdictions based on  residence
and  address  and other functions necessary for the conduct of elections
using voter registration information from the official  statewide  voter
registration list.
  4.  Adding, changing, canceling or removing voter registration records
shall be conducted only by local boards of elections as provided by this
chapter.
  5. For purposes of removing names of ineligible voters from  the  list
of  eligible  voters,  the  state  board  of  elections shall obtain and
transmit to local boards of elections (a) the list of persons  who  have
died  maintained by the New York city department of health and the state
department of health, and (b) the list of persons subject to  forfeiture
of  the  right  to  vote  pursuant  to  section  5-106  of  this article
maintained by the office of court administration or by  a  court  having
made such determination.
  6.  Each local board of elections shall, within twenty-five days after
receiving  such  list  of  decedents  or  list  of  persons  subject  to
forfeiture  of  the  right  to  vote  pursuant  to section 5-106 of this
article, use such lists to identify and  remove  decedents  and  persons
subject  to forfeiture of the right to vote pursuant to section 5-106 of
this article from the list of eligible voters.
  7. The local board of elections shall  electronically  file  with  the
state  board  of  elections a cancellation and removal report indicating
all cancellations and removal  actions  taken  by  the  local  board  of
elections  from  the list of eligible voters. Such report shall be filed
in a format and at such intervals as directed  by  the  state  board  of
elections.
  8.  If  the information received by the board of elections through the
statewide voter registration list indicates that a  voter  is  currently
registered  to  vote  more  than  once,  the  local  board  of elections
containing the registration record of  the  earlier  dated  registration
record  shall  send  such  voter  the  confirmation notice prescribed by
section 5-712 of this article and place such voter  in  inactive  status
pursuant to section 5-213 of this article.
  9.  The state board of elections shall, in accordance with subdivision
four of section 3-100 of this chapter, promulgate rules and  regulations
to ensure compliance with the adding, changing, canceling or removing of
voters from the single, official, statewide voter registration list.
  10.  Any person may bring a challenge pursuant to this chapter against
any board of elections to compel the removal of an ineligible voter from
the  list  of  eligible  voters  or  to  compel  the  correction  of   a
registration  record  in  the  case  of  a  voter wrongfully canceled or
removed from the statewide, single, official voter registration list.
  11. The state board of elections shall  establish  a  statewide  voter
hotline   using   information  available  through  the  statewide  voter
registration list for voters to obtain information regarding their voter
registration.
  12. a. The state board of elections, in consultation with local boards
of elections and in accordance with subdivision four of section 3-100 of

this chapter, shall establish  minimum  standards  for  statewide  voter
registration   list   maintenance  activities  and  schedules  for  such
activities by regulation.
  b.  The  list  maintenance performed pursuant to the minimum standards
required by paragraph a of this subdivision  shall  be  conducted  in  a
manner consistent with this chapter to ensure that:
  (1)  the  name of each registered voter appears in the statewide voter
registration list;
  (2) only names of persons who  are  not  registered  or  who  are  not
eligible to vote are removed from such list; and
  (3)  the  prior registrations of duplicate names are removed from such
list.
  13. The state board of elections shall provide adequate  technological
security measures to prevent the unauthorized access to or disruption of
the  statewide  voter  registration  list  established  pursuant to this
section and any voter registration  records  electronically  transmitted
between  local  boards  of elections and the state board of elections as
provided for in subdivision two of this section. A  copy  of  such  list
shall be stored at least twenty-five miles away from the place where the
original is housed.
  14.  The  statewide  voter  registration list system shall ensure that
voter registration records in the state are  accurate  and  are  updated
regularly,   including  a  system  of  file  maintenance  that  makes  a
reasonable effort to remove registrants who are ineligible to vote  from
the official list of eligible voters, as provided for by this chapter.