2023 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.
18. promulgate rules and regulations to provide  for  the  ability  of
individuals  who  do  not exclusively identify as a binary gender to run
for  positions  elected  in  gendered   contests   which   respect   the

individuals'  gender  identity.  In no case shall the board of elections
promulgate rules that are  inconsistent  with  a  system  that  requires
individuals filing for candidacy to self-identify their gender marker as
"M",  "F",  or "X", requires all candidates to run in a single race, and
maintains requirements for gender diversity.