N.Y. Election Law § 7-205: Voting machines; use of at primaries

§ 7-205. Voting machines; use of at primaries. 1. The board of

elections of any county outside the city of New York may adopt, and

shall adopt when required by local law in any city or by action of the

county legislative body in any county, the use of voting machines for

contested primary elections in any or all parts of such city or county

for any office or position for which such board is not required to use

such machines. Wherever voting machines are used for primary elections,

the board of elections having jurisdiction over elections in the city,

county or town concerned shall issue directions for such use for each

primary election which shall be in conformity with the provisions of

this section and of all other applicable provisions of this chapter and

which shall be binding on all election officials in the area involved.

2. Additional voting machines may be acquired for this purpose. If the

voting machines used are equipped with a mechanism by which a voter of

one party may be permitted to vote for any candidate of his own party

but prevented from voting for any candidates of other parties, the same

machines may be used for the primaries of all parties or of more than

one party. In the use of such a machine an inspector assigned for the

purpose by the board of inspectors shall set the machine before each

voter enters the voting booth so that it can be operated only for

candidates of the party in which the voter is enrolled. If the face of a

single machine will not hold the candidates of all parties, two or more

machines may be used in a single election district, but all the

candidates of any one party for whose primary contests voting machines

are used must appear on the same machine except as provided in

subdivision five of this section.

3. If the voting machines are not thus adapted to use for the primary

contests of more than one party on the same machine, a separate voting

machine shall be provided for the primary contests of each party for

which such voting machines are used. Voting machines of both types may

be used in the same primary election in different election districts or

in the same election district for different parties.

4. Wherever voting machines are used for primary elections, they shall

be used in accordance with the following provisions of this section for

all primary contests so far as the available supply of voting machines

will permit, except that the use of voting machines in all contested

primary elections in the city of New York shall be mandatory except as

provided in subdivision five. Outside the city of New York, if the

available supply of voting machines is insufficient to contain all

primary contests, paper ballots shall be used insofar as necessary. If

there are not enough voting machines to cover all election districts for

all parties therein, preference shall be given in the use of machines,

first to contests for nomination for public office over contests for

election to party position and, second to the contests which are held in

the greatest numbers of election districts. If a voting machine used for

a party in a particular election district will not accommodate all the

candidates of the party therein, as many as possible of the contests of

such party shall be carried on the voting machine subject to the

following priorities: first to contests for nomination for public

office, and second to offices voted for in such party in the most

election districts. Subject to these requirements, the board of

elections of any county outside the city of New York shall designate

which election districts and which parties therein shall use voting

machines for primary contests, and which contests shall appear on a

voting machine when the machine will not accommodate all the contests of

a party.

5. To provide an opportunity for voting for offices or party positions

for which more candidates have been designated than can be accommodated

on the voting machines, the board of elections may provide for the use

of a separate paper ballot for such offices and positions when other

offices and positions are voted for on voting machines by voters of the

same party.

6. When voting machines are used for primary elections the provisions

of the other sections of this article shall be observed so far as

applicable, except that the provisions for party rows or columns and the

use of party names and emblems for each individual candidate shall be

disregarded. When primary candidates of more than one party appear on

the same voting machine, the candidates of each party shall appear

together on one part of the machine distinctly and prominently separated

from the part or parts used for candidates of other parties and

prominently labeled with the name of the party. When a voting machine is

used for the primary candidates of one party only, the machine shall be

prominently labeled with the name of that party.

7. The state board of elections shall have power to issue

supplementary instructions for the use of voting machines in primary

elections in accordance with the provisions of this section. Subject to

such instructions and to the provisions of this section the board of

elections shall have power to make all necessary or desirable provisions

for such use.