What's happening
This bill requires boards of elections to post annual reports with detailed election performance metrics online within five days of filing.
Why it matters
Enhances public transparency and trust. by requiring detailed, standardized reporting on key aspects of election administration—such as ballot counts, staffing, equipment issues, and complaint resolution—making it easier for the public, watchdog groups, and policymakers to assess how well elections are run.
Enables better oversight and accountability. by mandating breakdowns of important metrics (e.g., number of ballots, poll worker vacancies, equipment failures, accessibility waivers), which can reveal recurring problems or disparities across counties and help drive targeted improvements or reforms.
Supports voter access and equity analysis. through data on interpreters, accessibility accommodations, and detailed reporting of registration sources (including by party and location), highlighting where additional resources or interventions may be needed for underserved or minority communities.
Promotes data-driven improvements. by making granular operational data (like training participation, equipment vendor costs, and website usage) publicly available, potentially informing future legislative changes, budget decisions, and administrative best practices.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Make Election Reports Public
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 14
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to elections
- Referred to elections
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require Election Reports Online
In Assembly Committee · Election Law · Sponsor Dan Quart
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5362
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 29, 2019
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to annual reports of the boards of elections
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 3-212 of the election law, as amended by chapter 90 of the laws of 1991, is amended and a new paragraph (c) is added to read as follows:
(a) Each board of elections shall make an annual report of its affairs and proceedings to its local legislative body once every twelve months and no later than the last day of January in any year. A copy of said annual report shall be filed with the state board of elections and shall be made available to the public on the website maintained by any board of elections, including the state board of elections, no later than five days after said report is delivered to the state board.
(c) Said annual report, as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision, shall include the following performance metrics for the preceding calendar year:
(1) The number of elections administered in the preceding calendar year, including all primary, general and special elections, listed by date with the offices included in each election and any referendum questions;
(2) The number of ballots delivered to each poll site, the number of ballots cast by scanning at each poll site scanner, and the number of ballots counted at each county board of elections office, including a separate listing for the number of emergency, absentee, military and overseas ballots counted at each county board of elections office;
(3) The number of election inspectors and poll clerks employed for each election, the total number of unfilled election inspector or poll
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01193-01-9
S. 5362 2
clerk positions for each election and the number of poll sites with absent election inspectors or poll clerks for each election;
(4) The number of poll workers who attended trainings, the total number of training sessions offered per election, and the number of adjunct trainers hired per election;
(5) The number of interpreters employed per language per election and the location of polling places where interpreters were deployed;
(6) The total number of polling places per election, the total number of scanners deployed for each election, the total number of scanners which required repair on each election day, the total number of scanners requiring replacement on each election day, the total number of staff from the voting equipment vendor employed on each election day and a breakdown of costs incurred for repair and replacement on each election day;
(7) The number of poll site accessibility waivers requested and the number of poll site accessibility waivers obtained for each election, the number of ballot marking devices deployed for each election and the number of ballots created by ballot marking devices for each election;
(8) The number of candidate petitions processed for each election, the number of petition hearings conducted for each election and the number of hearing appeals filed for each election;
(9) The total number of voter registration applications sorted by party and, for the board of elections of the city of New York, by borough, indicating the number of voter registration applications processed by the department of motor vehicles and, for board of elections of the city of New York, by agencies utilizing code "9" registration forms and by the city university of New York utilizing code "D" registration forms;
(10) Metrics indicating website usage, including the number of unique visitors and total hits to the website maintained by each board of elections and to any on-line poll location locator on a per month and annual basis; and
(11) The number of complaints received regarding poll worker conduct per election, the number of investigations into complaints performed, the average length of investigation into complaints, the number of complaints resolved and the resulting actions taken.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the election law, in relation to annu- al reports of the boards of elections
Purpose or general idea of bill
To improve public access to information about the Board of Elections through the annual report
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends subdivision 4 of § 3-212 of the Election Law to require that the Board of Elections publish each year's annual report and that the report contain performance metrics for the preceding calendar year, including:
* The number of elections administered, including the offices and any referenda included in the election
* The number of ballots delivered to each poll site, cast by scanning at each poll site scanner and counted at each country Board of Elections office
* The number of election inspectors and poll clerks employed for each election, the number of unfilled election inspector or poll clerk posi- tions for each election and the number of poll sites with absent election inspectors or poll clerks for each election
* The number of poll workers who attended trainings, the number of trainings offered per election and the number of trainers hired
* The number of interpreters employed per language per election and the poll sites at which they were deployed
* The total number of polling places per election
* The total number of scanners deployed scanners which required repair on each scanners requiring replacement on each staff from the voting equipment vendor breakdown of costs incurred for repair per election, the total number of election day, the total number of election day, the total number of employed per election and a and replacement per election
* The number of poll site accessibility waivers requested per election, the number of ballot marking devices deployed per election and the number of ballots created by ballot marking device per election
* The number of candidate petitions processed per election, the number of petition hearings conducted for each election and the number of hear- ing appeals filed per election
* The total number of voter registration applications sorted by party and, in New York City, borough, the number of voter registration appli- cations processed by the DMV and by CUNY
* The number of unique visitors and total hits to the Board of Elections websites and to any online poll locator on a monthly and annual basis
* The number of complaints received regarding poll worker conduct per election, the number of investigations into complaints performed, the average length of investigation into complaints, the number of complaints resolved and the resulting actions taken
Section 2 contains the effective date.
Justification
The Boards of Elections in New York are responsible for reporting to voters on their performance. However, the reports they produce fail to provide a clear accounting of the previous year's elections and are often unavailable to the public. By requiring public access to an annual report that includes very specific performance metrics, we can ensure accountability at the Boards of Elections.
Prior legislative history
2017-2018: A4156 referred to Elections 2015-2016: A4715 referred to Elections 2013-2014: A4600 passed the Assembly and died in the Senate
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This bill would take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.