2023 New York Laws › ELN - Election › Article 7 - Election Ballot › Title 2 - Voting Machines › 7-202 - Voting Machine or System; Requirements Of.

§  7-202.  Voting  machine  or  system;  requirements  of. 1. A voting
machine or system to be approved by the state board of elections shall:
a. be constructed so as to allow for voting for all candidates who may
be nominated and on all ballot proposals which  may  be  submitted  and,
except  for  elections  at  which  the number of parties and independent
bodies on the ballot exceeds the number of rows or columns available, so
that the amount of space between the names of any two candidates of  any
party or independent body in any row or column of such machine or system
at any election is no greater than the amount of space between the names
of  any  other  candidates  of  such  party  or independent body at such
election;
b. permit a voter to vote for any person for any  office,  whether  or
not  nominated  as  a candidate by any party or independent body without
the ballot, or any part thereof, being removed from the machine  at  any
time;
c.  be constructed so that a voter cannot vote for a candidate or on a
ballot proposal for whom or on which he or she is not lawfully  entitled
to vote;
d. if the voter selects votes for more than one candidate for a single
office,  except where a voter is lawfully entitled to vote for more than
one person for that office, notify the voter that the voter has selected
more than one candidate for a single office on the  ballot,  notify  the
voter  before  the  ballot  is cast and counted of the effect of casting
multiple  votes  for  the  office,  and  provide  the  voter  with   the
opportunity to correct the ballot before the ballot is cast and counted;
e.  provide  the  voter  an opportunity to privately and independently
verify votes selected and the ability  to  privately  and  independently
change  such  votes  or  correct any error before the ballot is cast and
counted;
f. be provided with a "protective counter" which records the number of
times the machine or system has been operated since it was built  and  a
"public  counter"  which records the number of persons who have voted on
the machine at each separate election;
g. be provided with a lock or locks, or other device or  devices,  the
use of which, immediately after the polls are closed or the operation of
the  machine  or  system for such election is completed, will absolutely
secure the voting or registering mechanism and prevent the recording  of
additional votes;
h.  be  provided  with  sufficient  space  to  display the information
required herein, provided, however, in the alternative, such information
may be displayed within the official ballot;
i. be provided  with  a  device  for  printing  or  photographing  all
counters  or  numbers recorded by the machine or system before the polls
open and after the polls close which shall be a permanent record with  a
manual audit capacity available for canvassing the votes recorded by the
machine  or  system;  such paper record shall be preserved in accordance
with the provisions of section 3-222 of this chapter;
j. retain all paper  ballots  cast  or  produce  and  retain  a  voter
verified  permanent  paper  record which shall be presented to the voter
from behind a window or other device before the ballot  is  cast,  in  a
manner  intended  and designed to protect the privacy of the voter; such
ballots or record shall allow a manual audit and shall be  preserved  in
accordance with the provisions of section 3-222 of this chapter;
k.  provide  sufficient  illumination  to  enable the voter to see the
ballot;
l. be suitable for the use  of  election  officers  in  examining  the
counters  such  that  the protective counters and public counters on all

such machines or systems must be located so that they will be visible to
the inspectors and watchers at all times while the polls are open;
m.  be  provided with a screen and hood or curtain or privacy features
with equivalent function which shall be  so  made  and  adjusted  as  to
conceal the voter and his or her action while voting;
n. contain a device which enables all the election inspectors and poll
watchers  at such election district to determine when the voting machine
or system has been activated for voting and when the voter has completed
casting his or her vote;
o. permit the primaries of at least five parties to be  held  on  such
machine  or  system at a single election, and accommodate such number of
multiple ballots at a single election as may be required  by  the  state
board of elections but in no case less than five;
p.  be constructed to allow a voter in a wheelchair to cast his or her
vote;
q. permit inspectors of elections  to  easily  and  safely  place  the
voting machine or system in a wheelchair accessible position;
r.  ensure  the integrity and security of the voting machine or system
by:
(i) being capable of conducting both  pre-election  and  post-election
testing  of  the  logic  and  accuracy  of  the  machine  or system that
demonstrates an accurate tally when a known quantity of votes is entered
into each machine; and
(ii) providing a means by which a  malfunctioning  voting  machine  or
system shall secure any votes already cast on such machine or system;
s.   permit   alternative   language  accessibility  pursuant  to  the
requirements of section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42  U.S.C.
1973aa-1a)  such  that  it  must  have  the capacity to display the full
ballot in the alternative  languages  required  by  the  federal  Voting
Rights  Act  if  such  voting machine or system is to be used where such
alternative languages are required or where the local board  deems  such
feature necessary; and
t.  not  include  any  device  or functionality potentially capable of
externally transmitting or receiving data via the internet or via  radio
waves or via other wireless means.
2. The state board of elections shall approve, for use at each polling
place at least one voting machine or system at such polling place which,
in  addition  to  meeting  the  requirements  in subdivision one of this
section, shall:
a. be equipped with a voting device with tactile discernible  controls
designed to meet the needs of voters with limited reach and limited hand
dexterity;
b.  be  equipped  with  an  audio voting feature that communicates the
complete content of the ballot in a voice which permits a voter  who  is
blind  or  visually impaired to cast a secret ballot using voice-only or
tactile discernible controls; and
c. be capable  of  being  equipped  with  a  pneumatic  switch  voting
attachment  which  can  be  operated  orally  by  gentle pressure or the
creation of a vacuum through the inhalation or exhalation of air by  the
voter  including,  but  not  limited  to,  a  sip-and-puff switch voting
attachment.
3. The state board of elections may, in  accordance  with  subdivision
four   of  section  3-100  of  this  chapter,  establish  by  regulation
additional standards for voting machines  or  systems  not  inconsistent
with this chapter.
4.  Local boards of elections which obtain voting machines pursuant to
this chapter may  determine  to  purchase  direct  recording  electronic

machines  or  optical scan machines in conformance with the requirements
of this chapter.