N.Y. Election Law § 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 early mail voters, 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.