Bill Text: NY S02329 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires the board of elections or a bipartisan committee appointed by such board to conduct a risk-limiting audit of voter verifiable audit records from voting machines or systems within the jurisdiction of such board.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S02329 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S02329-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2329--A 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 24, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KAVANAGH, MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections -- reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to conducting risk-limit- ing audits The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 9-211 of the election law, as 2 amended by chapter 5 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 3 1. (a) Within fifteen days after each general or special election, 4 within thirteen days after every primary election, and within seven days 5 after every village election conducted by the board of elections, the 6 board of elections or a bipartisan committee appointed by such board 7 shall conduct a risk-limiting audit, which will include a hand-to-eye 8 review of at least three percent of the voter verifiable [audit] paper 9 records [from three percent of voting machines or systems within the10jurisdiction of such board. Such audits may be performed manually or via11the use of any automated tool authorized for such use by the state board12of elections which is independent from the voting system it is being13used to audit. Voting machines or systems shall be selected for audit14through a random, manual process] in accordance with the regulations 15 promulgated pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision. In addition 16 to such audit and in accordance with the same procedures the board of 17 elections shall audit the voter verifiable audit records from three 18 percent of voting machines or systems within the jurisdiction of such 19 board. At least five days prior to the time fixed for such [selection] 20 risk-limiting audit process, the board of elections shall send notice by 21 first class mail to each candidate, political party and independent body 22 entitled to have had watchers present at the polls in any election EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02485-07-9S. 2329--A 2 1 district in such board's jurisdiction. Such notice shall state the time 2 and place fixed for such [random selection process] risk-limiting audit. 3 The audit shall be conducted in the same manner, to the extent applica- 4 ble, as a canvass of paper ballots. Each candidate, political party or 5 independent body entitled to appoint watchers to attend at a polling 6 place shall be entitled to appoint such number of watchers to observe 7 the audit. 8 (b) The state board of elections shall promulgate regulations for the 9 implementation of risk-limiting audits required by paragraph (a) of this 10 subdivision. The number of voter verifiable audit records selected for 11 such audits shall be determined pursuant to such regulations that make 12 use of statistical methods and are designed to limit the risk of certi- 13 fying an incorrect outcome, but shall be at least three percent of all 14 ballots cast. 15 (c) As used in this section: (i) "Risk-limiting audit" means a post-e- 16 lection process such that, if the reported outcome of the contest is 17 incorrect, there is at least a ninety percent chance that the audit 18 will replace the incorrect outcome with the correct outcome as deter- 19 mined by a full, hand-to-eye tabulation of all votes validly cast in 20 that election contest that ascertains voter intent manually and directly 21 from voter-verifiable paper records. 22 (ii) "Reported outcome" means the outcome of an election contest which 23 is determined according to the canvass and which will become the offi- 24 cial, certified outcome unless it is revised by an audit, recount, or 25 other legal process. 26 (iii) "Incorrect outcome" means an outcome that differs from the 27 outcome that would be determined by a full tabulation of all votes 28 validly cast in that election contest, determining voter intent manual- 29 ly, directly from voter-verifiable paper records. 30 (iv) "Outcome" means the winner or set of winners of an election 31 contest, which might be candidates or positions. 32 § 2. County boards of elections are authorized to conduct risk-limit- 33 ing audit pilots. Any board conducting a pilot audit shall notify the 34 New York state board of elections. The New York state board of elections 35 must provide a report to the state legislature on June 30, 2021 with the 36 findings from the risk-limiting audits conducted through March 31, 2021. 37 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 38 section one of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2022.