STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3334--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 29, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WALKER, BARRON -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Election Law -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to providing protections
against illegal voter purging
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 4-117 of the election law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
3 4. Any person, other than an election officer, who pays for, mails or
4 causes to be mailed, any mail, where such person knows or reasonably
5 should know that such mail: (a) is intended to be delivered to a regis-
6 tered voter or voter registration applicant; and (b) may be used by a
7 challenger, other than an election officer, to challenge the qualifica-
8 tions of a voter, shall file with the state board of elections within
9 two business days of such mailing, a duplicate copy of such mail, a
10 duplicate copy of names and addresses to which such mail was sent, and a
11 completed form prescribed by the state board of elections. Such form
12 shall contain: the full name, residence and business address, and the
13 name of the employer of the person who pays for, mails or causes to be
14 mailed the mailing; the approximate number of pieces of such mail; and a
15 statement certifying the accuracy of such duplicate copies and of the
16 information contained in the complete form. Such statement shall be
17 sworn or subscribed to by the person who mails or causes to be mailed
18 the mailing, and shall bear a form notice that false statements made
19 therein are punishable as a class A misdemeanor pursuant to section
20 210.45 of the penal law.
21 § 2. Section 8-502 of the election law, as amended by chapter 373 of
22 the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
23 § 8-502. Challenges; generally. 1. Before his or her vote is cast at
24 an election any person may be challenged as to his or her right to vote,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02460-03-9
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1 in accordance with the provisions of this section, or his or her right
2 to vote by absentee, military, special federal or special presidential
3 ballot. Such challenge may be made by an inspector or clerk, by any duly
4 appointed watcher, or by any registered voter properly in the polling
5 place in accordance with the provisions of this section.
6 2. An inspector shall challenge every person offering to vote, whom he
7 or she shall know or suspect is not entitled to vote in the district,
8 and every person whose name appears on the list of persons to be chal-
9 lenged on election day which is furnished by the board of elections.
10 3. Any person, other than an inspector or clerk, may challenge the
11 qualifications of a voter only by completing, executing and delivering
12 to the board of inspectors a challenge affidavit that satisfies the
13 requirements of section 8-503 of this title.
14 § 3. The election law is amended by adding a new section 8-503 to
15 read as follows:
16 § 8-503. Challenge affidavit. 1. The state board of elections shall
17 prescribe the content and form of a challenge affidavit for use at any
18 general, special, town or village election and at any primary election.
19 Such affidavit shall contain the affiant's full name, residence and
20 business address, the name of his or her employer, the registration,
21 serial number of the person challenged and a recital of the reasons and
22 the facts supporting the affiant's belief that the person challenged
23 lacks one or more of the qualifications for voting prescribed in section
24 5-102 or 5-106 of this chapter and specified in such affidavit. The
25 affidavit shall state if the reason for challenge are based upon the
26 affiant's personal knowledge or upon information received from another
27 person. If the affiant's belief is based upon information furnished by
28 another, the affidavit shall recite the name of the person furnishing
29 the information and the basis for his or her information. After the
30 affiant has filed such affidavit, an inspector from each major party
31 shall read to him or her and request him or her to sign the following
32 oath which shall be subscribed by such affiant: "I do solemnly swear (or
33 affirm) that I am a qualified voter of the city or county in which this
34 affidavit is signed and that the foregoing statement made by me on
35 (insert day, month and year) is a truthful disclosure of the reasons for
36 my belief that the registered voter therein named is not qualified to
37 vote in the election district in which he or she is now registered." If
38 the affiant shall take and sign such oath, an inspector shall sign his
39 or her name as a witness below the affiant's subscription to such oath.
40 An inspector may request state-issued identification to affirm the iden-
41 tity of the challenger. Each challenge affidavit may only challenge the
42 qualifications of one voter.
43 2. The boards of elections shall make challenge affidavit forms avail-
44 able to all qualified voters.
45 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 8-504 of the election law, as renumbered
46 by chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
47 2. (a) If the applicant shall take the preliminary oath, the inspector
48 shall ask the applicant [such] the following questions as [may] they
49 pertain to the reason his or her right to vote at such election in such
50 district was challenged[.]:
51 Are you eighteen years of age or older?
52 Are you a citizen of the United States?
53 Have you been a resident of this state and of this county (and the
54 City of New York or village, as applicable) for the past thirty days or
55 more?
56 Do you swear that you have not already voted at this election?
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1 (b) If any applicant shall refuse to answer fully any of the questions
2 [which may be put to him] in this subdivision, he or she shall not be
3 permitted to vote.
4 § 5. Section 8-504 of the election law is amended by adding a new
5 subdivision 9 to read as follows:
6 9. Information concerning the citizenship status of individuals, when
7 collected and transmitted pursuant to this section, shall not be
8 retained, used or shared for any other purpose except as may be required
9 by law. A failure to certify that an individual is a citizen of the
10 United States shall be considered an innocent error. Such person failing
11 to certify United States citizenship shall not be considered as attempt-
12 ing to register to vote.
13 § 6. Paragraphs (b) and (e) of subdivision 2 of section 8-508 of the
14 election law, as amended by section 11 of part XX of chapter 55 of the
15 laws of 2019, are amended to read as follows:
16 (b) The second section of such report shall be reserved for the board
17 of inspectors to enter the name, address and registration serial number
18 of each person who is challenged at the time of voting together with the
19 reason for the challenge, the name and address of the person challenging
20 the qualifications of such voter, if such person challenging the quali-
21 fications is not an inspector or clerk, and the words "Permitted to
22 Vote" or "Refused to take oath". If no voters are challenged, the board
23 of inspectors shall enter the words "No Challenges" across the space
24 reserved for such names. In lieu of preparing section two of the chal-
25 lenge report, the board of elections may provide, next to the name of
26 each voter in the computer generated registration list, a place for the
27 inspectors of election to record the information required to be entered
28 in such section two, or provide elsewhere in such registration list, a
29 place for the inspectors of election to enter such information.
30 (e) At the foot of such report or at the end of any such computer
31 generated registration list, if applicable, shall be a certificate that
32 such report or list contains the names of all persons who were chal-
33 lenged on the day of election, [and] the reason for such challenge and
34 the names and addresses of all challengers who are not inspectors of
35 clerks that each voter so reported as having been challenged took the
36 oaths as required, that such report or list contains the names of all
37 voters to whom such board gave or allowed assistance and lists the
38 nature of the disability which required such assistance to be given and
39 the names and family relationship, if any, to the voter of the persons
40 by whom such assistance was rendered; that each such assisted voter
41 informed such board under oath that he required such assistance and that
42 each person rendering such assistance took the required oath; that such
43 report or list contains the names of all voters who were permitted to
44 vote although their registration poll records were missing; that the
45 entries made by such board are a true and accurate record of its
46 proceedings with respect to the persons named in such report or list.
47 § 7. Subdivision 3 of section 8-510 of the election law, as amended by
48 section 12 of part XX of chapter 55 of the laws of 2019, is amended to
49 read as follows:
50 3. The inspectors shall place such completed report, each challenge
51 affidavit and each court order, if any, directing that a person be
52 permitted to vote, in the secure container provided by the county board
53 of elections for such ledger of registration records or computer gener-
54 ated registration lists and then shall close and seal each ledger of
55 registration records or computer generated registration lists, lock such
56 ledger in the carrying case furnished for that purpose and enclose the
A. 3334--A 4
1 keys in a sealed package or seal such list in the envelope provided for
2 that purpose.
3 § 8. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 17-108 of the election law, as
4 amended by chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, are amended to read as
5 follows:
6 1. Any person who wilfully loses, alters, destroys or mutilates the
7 list of voters or registration poll ledgers, a challenge affidavit, or a
8 challenge report in any election district, or a certified copy thereof,
9 is guilty of a misdemeanor.
10 2. An applicant for registration who shall make, incorporate or cause
11 to be incorporated a material false statement in an application for
12 registration, or in any challenge or other affidavit required for or
13 made or filed in connection with registration or voting, and any person
14 who knowingly takes a false oath before a board of inspectors of
15 election, and any person who makes a material false statement in a
16 medical certificate, a challenge affidavit or an affidavit filed in
17 connection with an application for registration, is guilty of a misde-
18 meanor.
19 § 9. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.