2023 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 one of the veterans' services 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  one  of  the
veterans'  services  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.