N.Y. Election Law § 7-202: Voting machine or system; requirements of

§ 7-202. Voting machine or system; requirements of. 1. A voting

machine or system to be approved by the state board of elections shall:

a. be constructed so as to allow for voting for all candidates who may

be nominated and on all ballot proposals which may be submitted and,

except for elections at which the number of parties and independent

bodies on the ballot exceeds the number of rows or columns available, so

that the amount of space between the names of any two candidates of any

party or independent body in any row or column of such machine or system

at any election is no greater than the amount of space between the names

of any other candidates of such party or independent body at such

election;

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;

c. be constructed so that a voter cannot vote for a candidate or on a

ballot proposal for whom or on which he or she is not lawfully entitled

to vote;

d. if the voter selects votes for more than one candidate for a single

office, except where a voter is lawfully entitled to vote for more than

one person for that office, notify the voter that the voter has selected

more than one candidate for a single office on the ballot, notify the

voter before the ballot is cast and counted of the effect of casting

multiple votes for the office, and provide the voter with the

opportunity to correct the ballot before the ballot is cast and counted;

e. provide the voter an opportunity to privately and independently

verify votes selected and the ability to privately and independently

change such votes or correct any error before the ballot is cast and

counted;

f. be provided with a "protective counter" which records the number of

times the machine or system has been operated since it was built and a

"public counter" which records the number of persons who have voted on

the machine at each separate election;

g. be provided with a lock or locks, or other device or devices, the

use of which, immediately after the polls are closed or the operation of

the machine or system for such election is completed, will absolutely

secure the voting or registering mechanism and prevent the recording of

additional votes;

h. be provided with sufficient space to display the information

required herein, provided, however, in the alternative, such information

may be displayed within the official ballot;

i. be provided with a device for printing or photographing all

counters or numbers recorded by the machine or system before the polls

open and after the polls close which shall be a permanent record with a

manual audit capacity available for canvassing the votes recorded by the

machine or system; such paper record shall be preserved in accordance

with the provisions of section 3-222 of this chapter;

j. retain all paper ballots cast or produce and retain a voter

verified permanent paper record which shall be presented to the voter

from behind a window or other device before the ballot is cast, 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;

k. provide sufficient illumination to enable the voter to see the

ballot;

l. be suitable for the use of election officers in examining the

counters such that the protective counters and public counters on all

such machines or systems must be located so that they will be visible to

the inspectors and watchers at all times while the polls are open;

m. be provided with a screen and hood or curtain or privacy features

with equivalent function which shall be so made and adjusted as to

conceal the voter and his or her action while voting;

n. contain a device which enables all the election inspectors and poll

watchers at such election district to determine when the voting machine

or system has been activated for voting and when the voter has completed

casting his or her vote;

o. permit the primaries of at least five parties to be held on such

machine or system at a single election, and accommodate such number of

multiple ballots at a single election as may be required by the state

board of elections but in no case less than five;

p. be constructed to allow a voter in a wheelchair to cast his or her

vote;

q. permit inspectors of elections to easily and safely place the

voting machine or system in a wheelchair accessible position;

r. ensure the integrity and security of the voting machine or system

by:

(i) being capable of conducting both pre-election and post-election

testing of the logic and accuracy of the machine or system that

demonstrates an accurate tally when a known quantity of votes is entered

into each machine; and

(ii) providing a means by which a malfunctioning voting machine or

system shall secure any votes already cast on such machine or system;

s. permit alternative language accessibility pursuant to the

requirements 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.

2. The state board of elections shall approve, for use at each polling

place at least one voting machine or system at such polling place which,

in addition to meeting the requirements in subdivision one of this

section, shall:

a. be equipped with a voting device with tactile discernible controls

designed to meet the needs of voters with limited reach and limited hand

dexterity;

b. be equipped with an audio voting feature that communicates the

complete content of the ballot in a voice which permits a voter who is

blind or visually impaired to cast a secret ballot using voice-only or

tactile discernible controls; and

c. be capable of being equipped with a pneumatic switch voting

attachment which can be operated orally by gentle pressure or the

creation of a vacuum through the inhalation or exhalation of air by the

voter including, but not limited to, a sip-and-puff switch voting

attachment.

3. The state board of elections may, in accordance with subdivision

four of section 3-100 of this chapter, establish by regulation

additional standards for voting machines or systems not inconsistent

with this chapter.

4. Local boards of elections which obtain voting machines pursuant to

this chapter may determine to purchase direct recording electronic

machines or optical scan machines in conformance with the requirements

of this chapter.