2020 New York Laws
ELN - Election
Article 3 - Election Officials
Title 1 - Statewide Provisions
3-102 - State Board of Elections; General Powers and Duties.
§ 3-102. State board of elections; general powers and duties. In addition to the enforcement powers and any other powers and duties specified by law, the state board of elections shall have the power and duty to: 1. issue instructions and promulgate rules and regulations relating to the administration of the election process, election campaign practices and campaign financing practices consistent with the provisions of law; 2. visit boards of elections, examine their procedures and records and direct that any such procedures be modified in any manner consistent with the provisions of this chapter; 3. conduct any investigation necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, provided, however, that the state board of elections chief enforcement counsel, established pursuant to section 3-100 of this article, shall conduct all investigations necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter; 4. conduct private or public hearings; 5. administer oaths or affirmations, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, examine them under oath or affirmation and require the production of any books, records, documents or other evidence it may deem relevant or material; 6. confer immunity in accordance with the provisions of section 50.20 of the criminal procedure law, in any investigation relating to any crime or offense with respect to which, by express provisions of statute, a competent authority is authorized to confer immunity; provided, however, that such immunity shall be conferred only after the attorney general and appropriate district attorney are afforded the opportunity to be heard respecting any objections which either may have to the conferring thereof; and provided, further, that if either the attorney general or any such appropriate district attorney shall object to the conferring of immunity, immunity may be conferred only by unanimous vote of all four commissioners of the state board; 7. institute, or direct a board of elections to institute such judicial proceedings as may be necessary to enforce compliance with any provision of article fourteen of this chapter or any regulation promulgated thereunder including, but not limited to, application, on notice served upon the respondent in the manner directed by the court at least six hours prior to the time of return thereon, to a justice of the supreme court within the judicial district in which an alleged violation of any such provision or regulation occurred or is threatened, for an order prohibiting the continued or threatened violation thereof or for such other or further relief as the court may deem just and proper; 8. prepare uniform forms for the statements required by article fourteen of this chapter and uniform forms for use by local election officials in the conduct of registration and voting; design, prepare and make available to county boards of election and to such other institutions and groups as such board in its discretion shall determine uniform application forms for registration and enrollment, transfer of registration and/or enrollment and special enrollment upon application filed by mail pursuant to the provisions of section 5-210 of this chapter; 9. study and examine the administration of elections within the state including campaign financing, campaign financing reporting, and campaign practices; 9-A. (a) develop an electronic reporting system to process the statements of campaign receipts, contributions, transfers and expenditures required to be filed with any board of elections pursuant to the provisions of sections 14-102, 14-104 and 14-201 of this chapter;(b) prescribe the information required in the form for each statement to be filed;
(c) establish an educational and training program on all reporting requirements including but not limited to the electronic reporting process and make it easily and readily available to any such candidate or committee;
(d) make the electronic reporting process available to any such candidate or committee which is required to file or which agrees to file such statements by such electronic reporting process;
(e) cause all information contained in such a statement filed with the state board of elections which is not on such electronic reporting system to be entered into such system as soon as practicable but in no event later than ten business days after its receipt by the state board of elections; and
(f) make all data from electronic reporting process available at all times on the internet. 10. establish rules allowing the admission of news media representatives to the area of the polling place where the canvass of ballots cast can be directly observed; 11. recommend such legislation or administrative measures as it finds appropriate to promote fair, honest and efficiently administered elections, including, but not limited to, legislation to adjust the contribution limitations set forth in article fourteen of this chapter; 12. monitor the adequacy and effectiveness of the election laws and report thereon at least annually to the governor and the legislature; 13. compile the information required with respect to the operation of the National Voter Registration Act and report such information annually to the governor, the legislature and the Federal Election Commission together with an assessment of the operation of such act and any recommendations for changes and improvements. 14. take all appropriate steps to encourage the broadest possible voter participation in elections including the administration of a program of registration form distribution by participating state agencies as prescribed by section 5-211 of this chapter; 15. receive from the secretary of the senate and the clerk of the assembly a list of the mailing addresses of senators and members of the assembly. When members of the public, government officials, or agencies request the mailing addresses of senators and members of the assembly, the mailing addresses submitted to the board by the secretary of the senate and the clerk of the assembly shall be provided; 16. administer the administrative complaint procedure as provided for in section 3-105 of this article; 16-a. provide the department of corrections and community supervision with a sufficient number of voter registration forms to allow the department of corrections and community supervision to comply with the duty to provide such voter registration forms to persons upon the expiration of their maximum sentence of imprisonment. Such voter registration forms shall be addressed to the state board of elections. 17. perform such other acts as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
