Bill Text: NY A06767 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to the preservation of unused ballots.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-1)

Status: (Passed) 2011-08-03 - signed chap.282 [A06767 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A06767-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        6767--A
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    March 28, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  DenDEKKER  --  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 the preservation of
         unused ballots
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Subdivision  2  of  section 3-222 of the election law, as
    2  amended by chapter 163 of the laws  of  1994,  is  amended  to  read  as
    3  follows:
    4    2.  [Write-in]  VOTED  ballots  shall be preserved for two years after
    5  such election and the packages thereof may be opened  and  the  contents
    6  examined  only upon order of a court or judge of competent jurisdiction,
    7  or by direction of such committee of the  senate  and  assembly  if  the
    8  ballots  relate  to  the election under investigation by such committee,
    9  and at the expiration of such time, such ballots may be disposed  of  at
   10  the discretion of the officer or board having charge of them.
   11    S  2. Subdivisions 3, 4 and 5 of section 3-222 of the election law, as
   12  amended by chapter 163 of the laws of  1994,  are  amended  to  read  as
   13  follows:
   14    3.  Except  as  hereinafter  provided, packages of protested, void and
   15  wholly blank ballots, OPEN packages of unused ballots and  all  absentee
   16  and  military,  special  federal,  special  presidential  and  emergency
   17  ballots and ballot envelopes, if  any,  opened  or  unopened,  shall  be
   18  preserved  for  two years after the election.  SEALED PACKAGES OF UNUSED
   19  BALLOTS SHALL BE RETAINED FOR FOUR MONTHS, AND MAY  THEN  BE  DESTROYED,
   20  PROVIDED  A  CERTIFICATE  ARTICULATING THE ELECTION DISTRICT IDENTIFYING
   21  DATA AND NUMBERS OF SUCH BALLOTS IS FILED WITH THE  BALANCE  OF  BALLOTS
   22  DESCRIBED  IN  THIS  SECTION,  FOR THE BALANCE OF THE TWO YEAR RETENTION
   23  PERIOD. Except as hereinafter provided,  boxes  containing  voted  paper
   24  ballots,  IF  ANY shall be preserved inviolate for four months after the
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD10533-02-1
       A. 6767--A                          2
    1  election, or until one month before the next election  occurring  within
    2  five  months after a preceding election if such boxes are needed for use
    3  at such next election and if the officer or  board  in  charge  of  such
    4  voted paper ballots is required by law to furnish ballot boxes therefor.
    5  Provided,  however,  that  such  ballot  boxes  and such packages may be
    6  opened, and their contents and the absentee and military, special feder-
    7  al, special presidential and emergency ballots and ballot envelopes  may
    8  be  examined, upon the order of any court or justice of competent juris-
    9  diction. Boxes and envelopes containing absentee, military and emergency
   10  ballots voted at a general or special election, for the office of member
   11  of the senate or assembly, packages of void, protested and wholly  blank
   12  ballots,  unopened  absentee and military ballot envelopes and the pack-
   13  ages of unused ballots, in connection with such election,  also  may  be
   14  opened,  and  their contents and such envelopes also may be examined, by
   15  direction of a committee of the senate or assembly  to  investigate  and
   16  report  on  contested  elections  of  members of the legislature. Unless
   17  otherwise ordered or directed by such a  court,  justice  or  committee,
   18  such  boxes shall be opened and their contents and such packages and the
   19  envelopes  containing  voted  ballots  and  ballot  envelopes  shall  be
   20  destroyed,  at  the  expiration  of  the  period  during  which they are
   21  required by the provisions of this section to be preserved, except  that
   22  instead  of being destroyed, they may be sold and the proceeds paid over
   23  in the manner provided with respect to the sale of  books,  records  and
   24  papers pertaining to an election.
   25    [4.  The  results  of the annual test of each voting machine of a type
   26  approved after September first, nineteen hundred  eighty-six,  which  is
   27  required by this chapter, shall be preserved for two years.
   28    5.]  4.  All records and documents pertaining to ballot label program-
   29  ming and ballot label programming data for any election for  any  voting
   30  machine  of  a  type  approved  after  September first, nineteen hundred
   31  eighty-six and all records pertaining to the PERIODIC MAINTENANCE  test-
   32  ing  of  any such programming and programming data or the testing of any
   33  such machine in connection with any such election shall be preserved for
   34  two years after such election.
   35    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.