NY Elec L § 3-102 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ELN - Election Article 3 - Election Officials Title 1 - Statewide Provisions 3-102 - State Board of Elections; General Powers and Duties.

§  3-102.  State  board  of  elections;  general powers and duties. In addition to the enforcement powers  and  any  other  powers  and  duties specified  by law, the state board of elections shall have the power and duty to:   1. issue instructions and promulgate rules and regulations relating to the administration of the election process, election campaign  practices and campaign financing practices consistent with the provisions of law;   2. visit boards of elections, examine their procedures and records and direct  that  any  such  procedures be modified in any manner consistent with the provisions of this chapter;   3. conduct any investigation necessary to carry out the provisions  of this chapter, provided, however, that the state board of elections chief enforcement  counsel,  established  pursuant  to  section  3-100 of this article, shall conduct  all  investigations  necessary  to  enforce  the provisions of this chapter;   4. conduct private or public hearings;   5.  administer oaths or affirmations, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, examine them under  oath  or  affirmation  and  require  the production  of  any  books,  records, documents or other evidence it may deem relevant or material;   6. confer immunity in accordance with the provisions of section  50.20 of  the  criminal  procedure  law,  in any investigation relating to any crime or offense  with  respect  to  which,  by  express  provisions  of statute,  a  competent  authority  is  authorized  to  confer  immunity; provided, however, that such immunity shall be conferred only after  the attorney  general  and  appropriate  district  attorney are afforded the opportunity to be heard respecting any objections which either may  have to  the  conferring  thereof;  and provided, further, that if either the attorney general or any such appropriate district attorney shall  object to  the  conferring  of  immunity,  immunity  may  be  conferred only by unanimous vote of all four commissioners of the state board;   7. institute, or  direct  a  board  of  elections  to  institute  such judicial  proceedings as may be necessary to enforce compliance with any provision  of  article  fourteen  of  this  chapter  or  any  regulation promulgated  thereunder  including,  but not limited to, application, on notice served upon the respondent in the manner directed by the court at least six hours prior to the time of return thereon, to a justice of the supreme court within the judicial district in which an alleged violation of any such provision or regulation occurred or is  threatened,  for  an order  prohibiting  the continued or threatened violation thereof or for such other or further relief as the court may deem just and proper;   8. prepare uniform  forms  for  the  statements  required  by  article fourteen  of  this  chapter  and uniform forms for use by local election officials in the conduct of registration and voting; design, prepare and make  available  to  county  boards  of  election  and  to  such   other institutions  and groups as such board in its discretion shall determine uniform application forms for registration and enrollment,  transfer  of registration  and/or  enrollment and special enrollment upon application filed by mail pursuant to  the  provisions  of  section  5-210  of  this chapter;   9.  study and examine the administration of elections within the state including campaign financing, campaign financing reporting, and campaign practices;   9-A. (a)  develop  an  electronic  reporting  system  to  process  the statements   of   campaign   receipts,   contributions,   transfers  and expenditures required to be filed with any board of  elections  pursuant to the provisions of sections 14-102, 14-104 and 14-201 of this chapter;  (b)  prescribe the information required in the form for each statement to be filed;  (c)  establish  an  educational  and training program on all reporting requirements including but  not  limited  to  the  electronic  reporting process  and  make it easily and readily available to any such candidate or committee;  (d) make the  electronic  reporting  process  available  to  any  such candidate or committee which is required to file or which agrees to file such statements by such electronic reporting process;  (e) cause all information contained in such a statement filed with the state  board  of  elections  which  is  not on such electronic reporting system to be entered into such system as soon as practicable but  in  no event  later than ten business days after its receipt by the state board of elections; and  (f) make all data from electronic reporting process available  at  all times on the internet.   10.   establish   rules   allowing   the   admission   of  news  media representatives to the area of the polling place where  the  canvass  of ballots cast can be directly observed;   11.  recommend such legislation or administrative measures as it finds appropriate  to  promote  fair,  honest  and  efficiently   administered elections,  including,  but  not  limited  to, legislation to adjust the contribution limitations set forth in article fourteen of this chapter;   12. monitor the adequacy and effectiveness of the  election  laws  and report thereon at least annually to the governor and the legislature;   13.  compile the information required with respect to the operation of the National Voter Registration Act and report such information annually to the governor, the legislature and  the  Federal  Election  Commission together  with  an  assessment  of  the  operation  of  such act and any recommendations for changes and improvements.   14. take all appropriate steps  to  encourage  the  broadest  possible voter  participation  in  elections  including  the  administration of a program  of  registration  form  distribution  by  participating   state agencies as prescribed by section 5-211 of this chapter;   15.  receive  from  the  secretary  of the senate and the clerk of the assembly a list of the mailing addresses of senators and members of  the assembly.  When members of the public, government officials, or agencies request the mailing addresses of senators and members of  the  assembly, the  mailing  addresses  submitted  to the board by the secretary of the senate and the clerk of the assembly shall be provided;   16. administer the administrative complaint procedure as provided  for in section 3-105 of this article;   16-a.  provide the department of corrections and community supervision with a sufficient number  of  voter  registration  forms  to  allow  the department  of  corrections and community supervision to comply with the duty to provide such  voter  registration  forms  to  persons  upon  the expiration  of  their  maximum  sentence  of  imprisonment.  Such  voter registration forms shall be addressed to the state board of elections.   16-b. Develop and implement a program to  educate  attorneys,  judges, election   officials,   corrections   officials,  including  parole  and probation officers, and members of the public regarding the requirements of the chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty-one which  added  this subdivision.   17.  perform  such  other  acts  as  may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.