NY Elec L § 1-104 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ELN - Election Article 1 - General Provisions 1-104 - Definitions.

§  1-104.  Definitions.  The terms used in this chapter shall have the significance herein defined unless another meaning is  clearly  apparent in  language or context. 1. The term "political unit" means the state or any political subdivision thereof or therein.   2. The term "unit of representation" means  any  political  unit  from which  members of any committee or delegates to a party convention shall be elected as provided in this chapter.   3. The term "party" means any political organization which,  excluding blank  and  void  ballots,  at  the last preceding election for governor received, at least two percent of the total votes cast for its candidate for governor,  or  one  hundred  thirty  thousand  votes,  whichever  is greater,  in  the  year  in which a governor is elected and at least two percent of the total votes cast for its candidate for president, or  one hundred  thirty  thousand  votes, whichever is greater, in a year when a president is elected.   4. The term "party position" means membership on a party committee  or the position of delegate or alternate to a party convention.   5.  The term "party officer" means one who holds any party position or any party office whether by election, appointment or otherwise.   6. The term "committee" means any committee chosen, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, to represent the members of a  party  in any political unit.   7.  The  term  "designation"  means  any method in accordance with the provisions of this chapter by which candidates for party nomination  for public  office  or  for  election to party position may be named for the purpose of any primary election.   8. The term "official ballot" refers to the paper ballot on which  the voter  casts  his  vote, or the face of a voting machine as prepared for the voter to cast his vote at any election held in accordance  with  the provisions of this chapter.   9.  The  terms  "primary" or "primary election" mean only the mandated election at which enrolled members of a party may vote for  the  purpose of nominating party candidates and electing party officers.   10. The terms "uncontested office" and "uncontested position", used in connection  with  a  primary  election  of  a  party,  mean an office or position for which the number of candidates designated does  not  exceed the  number  to  be  nominated  or elected thereto by the party, and for which no valid petition of enrolled members of the party  requesting  an opportunity  to  write in the name of an undesignated candidate has been filed.   11. The term "nomination" means the selection in accordance  with  the provisions of this chapter of a candidate for an office authorized to be filled at an election.   12.  The  term  "independent  body" means any organization or group of voters which nominates a candidate or candidates for office to be  voted for at an election, and which is not a party as herein provided.   13.   The   term  "independent  nomination"  means  nomination  by  an independent body.   14. Words of masculine gender include the feminine  except  where  the provision clearly applies to only one sex.   15.  The  term  "veterans'  hospital"  means any sanitarium, hospital, soldiers' and sailors'  home,  United  States  Veterans'  Administration Hospital,  or  other  home  or  institution, which is used, operated and conducted exclusively for the care, maintenance and treatment of persons serving in the military or naval service or coast guard  of  the  United States  or  the  state  of  New  York, or persons who (a) were honorably discharged from such service, or (b) have  a  qualifying  condition,  as defined  in  section  three hundred fifty of the executive law, and have  received a discharge other than bad conduct or  dishonorable  from  such service,  or  (c)  are  a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section three hundred fifty of the executive law, and have received a  discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service.   16.  The  term  "county  legislative  body"  shall  mean  the  elected governing body of a county, and in  the  city  of  New  York,  the  city council.   17.  The  term  "ballot  proposal" means any constitutional amendment, proposition, referendum or other question submitted to the voters at any election.   18. The word "ballot" when referring to  voting  machines  or  systems means  that  portion  of  the  cardboard  or  paper or other material or electronic display within the ballot frame containing the  name  of  the candidate  and  the  emblem  of  the  party organization by which he was nominated, of the  form  of  submission  of  a  proposed  constitutional amendment,  proposition  referendum  or  question  as  provided  in this chapter, with the word "yes" for voting for any  question  or  the  word "no"  for  voting against any question except that where the question or proposition is submitted only to the voters of a territory wholly within a county or city, such form shall be determined by the county  board  of elections.  Such  statement  and  the  title  shall  be  printed  and/or displayed in the largest type or display which it is practicable to  use in the space provided.   19.  The  term "ballot label" means the printed strips of cardboard or paper used on the voting machine containing the names of the  candidates nominated, and the questions submitted.   20.  The  term  "write-in ballot" means a vote cast for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot labels.   21. The term "protective counter" means a separate counter built  into the  voting  machine  that  cannot be reset, and which records the total number of movements of the operating lever.   22. The term "residence" shall be deemed to mean that  place  where  a person  maintains a fixed, permanent and principal home and to which he, wherever temporarily located, always intends to return.   23. The term "voting machine custodian" shall mean  a  city,  town  or board  of  elections  employee  charged  with  the duty of repairing and maintaining voting machines.   24. The term "major political parties" means  the  two  parties  which polled  for  their  respective candidates for the office of governor the highest and next highest number of votes at the last preceding  election for such office.   25. The term "election officer" shall mean any person who, pursuant to the  provisions  of this chapter, performs any official duty or function in the electoral process.   26. The term "board of elections" shall mean the board of elections of any county in the state of New York and the board of  elections  of  the city  of  New York and with respect to villages located in more than one county, shall mean the board of elections of that county containing more than fifty percent of the population of the village as shown by the last federal decennial or special census.   27. The term "personal application" means a signed writing  which  may be delivered by mailing or in person.   28.  The  term "caucus" shall mean an open meeting held in a political subdivision to nominate the candidates of a political party  for  public office  to  be  elected  in  such  subdivision at which all the enrolled voters of such party residing in such subdivision are eligible to vote.   29.  The  term  "ballot  label  programming"  means  any  computerized instructions  which control the placement or the printing of candidates'  names and ballot proposals on voting machines of a type  approved  after September first, nineteen hundred eighty-six.   30.  The  term  "ballot  label  programming  data" means the names and ballot positions of  candidates  and  ballot  proposals  stored  on  any computerized device through the use of ballot label programming.   31.   The  term  "resident  vote  tabulation  programming"  means  the permanent computerized instructions which are built  into  any  approved voting   machine   or  equipment  and  which  control  the  recordation, aggregation, tabulation, storage and  printing  of  votes  by  any  such machine or equipment.   32.  "General  village election" means the annual or biennial election for village officers.   33. "Special village election" means any election of village officers, other than the general village election.   34. "Village primary" means any election held by a political party for the purpose of nominating candidates for elective village offices.   35. The term "election" shall include a "general village election"  or "special  village  election"  except  where a specific provision of this chapter  may  not  be  consistently  applied  to  the  village  election procedure.   36.  "Name  stamp"  means  any  device which, when applied with ink or other permanent dye, can be  used  to  imprint  a  person's  name  to  a write-in ballot permanently.   37.  The  term "inactive status" means a category of registered voters who have failed to respond to a residence confirmation  notice  provided for  by  section  5-712  of  this  chapter  and whose registrations have neither  been  restored  to  the  active  registration  rolls  nor  been cancelled pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.   38.   "Computer  generated  registration  list"  means  a  printed  or electronic list of voters in alphabetical order for  a  single  election district  or  poll site, generated from a computer registration file for each election and containing for each voter listed, a facsimile  of  the signature of the voter. Such a list may be in a single volume or in more than  one volume. The list may be utilized in place of registration poll records, to establish a person's eligibility  to  vote  in  the  polling place on election day.  (a)  The  state  board  of elections shall promulgate minimum security standards for any electronic device, and any network or system to  which the  electronic  device is connected, that is used to store or otherwise access a computer generated registration list, and shall also promulgate a list of devices that are approved for use. No local board of elections shall be permitted to use such  a  device  unless  the  state  board  of elections  has  previously approved the device for use and has certified that the network or system to which the electronic device  is  connected is compliant with the minimum security standards.  (b)   The  minimum  security  standards  for  such  devices  shall  be commensurate with the level of security risk applicable to such  devices and  shall  specifically  take into account any security risk associated with voting equipment-related supply chains in  addition  to  any  other applicable security risk.  (c)  The  state board of elections shall promulgate minimum redundancy procedures to ensure a list of registration records  is  available  that provides  necessary  information in a compressed format to ensure voting continues if  the  electronic  computer  generated  registration  system becomes unavailable for any poll site or election district that utilizes such an electronic computer generated registration list.   39.  The  term  "name"  for  purposes  of  designating or nominating a candidate for public office or party position shall mean an individual's  formal name or an alternate, anglicized, or familiar form of a  name  or nickname,  notwithstanding  the candidate's proper name as it appears on his  or  her  voter  registration  form,  provided  that  such  name  is demonstrated  to  be  commonly  used  to  identify  the candidate in the candidate's community, does not include a descriptive term, and  further provided that the use of such name is not intended to mislead or confuse potential  signatories,  and  would  not  tend  to  confuse  or  mislead potential signatories, as to the candidate's identity.