Elections, State Board of

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Agency Web Site: https://www.elections.ny.gov/

Mission

The New York State Board of Elections executes and enforces all laws relating to elections, oversees the conduct of elections as well as the disclosure of campaign financing activities. The Board also strives to promote the full participation of the State's eligible voters and to maintain citizens' confidence in each stage of the process of elections.

The Board is responsible for reviewing the practices of all 62 local boards of elections; facilitating access to the ballot for State offices; approving voting systems for use within the State; maintaining the statewide voter registration database; conducting compliance reviews of campaign financing disclosure reports; training filers; and implementing various Federal voting programs including the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE).

The Division of Election Law Enforcement is responsible for responding to complaints filed with the State Board and for the enforcement of the provisions of the Election Law.

Organization and Staffing

The State Board of Elections is comprised of four commissioners and is organized into four main business units: Compliance, Enforcement, Election Operations, and the Public Campaign Finance Board. The workforce is comprised of administrative/clerical staff and investigators.

Budget Highlights

The FY 2024 Executive Budget recommends $38.8 million in State Operations appropriations. This is an $18.4 million increase mainly attributed to staffing increases for the Public Campaign Finance Program and Election Law Enforcement, as well as new Federal grant appropriations. The Executive budget recommends $25 million in Local Assistance appropriations as a commitment to provide matching funds for the Public Campaign Finance Program. The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 210 FTEs, which is an increase of 62 FTEs from the previous fiscal year.

Reappropriations totaling $91.2 million continue to be available to meet ongoing Federal and State election mandates, including funding for early voting and electronic poll books, federal funding for state and local cyber-security enhancements, original Help America Vote Act funding, and capital funds to build an online/automatic voter registration system and reimburse counties for technology costs critical to the administration of elections.

Program Highlights

Compliance

The Compliance Unit, under the supervision of the Joint Counsel's Office, is responsible for the registration and termination of committees, receiving and processing campaign financial disclosure reports, operating a call center for Election Law and filing inquiries, and calculating contribution limits. The Board regularly receives and reviews campaign financial disclosure filings from state and local filers, performs audits of filings, assists campaign treasurers in bringing their filings into compliance and provides statewide training. The Board has also undertaken the redesign and redevelopment of systems used by campaign treasurers to report disclosures for public review. This multi-year project modernizes an outdated system to make campaign finance information easier to disclose and more transparent to the public.

Enforcement

The Board’s Division of Election Law Enforcement is tasked with the investigation of complaints alleging violations of Election Law as well as potential violations of campaign finance reporting requirements. Based on the evidence, the Chief Enforcement Counsel decides whether the Division should close the matter, proceed with civil enforcement action, or seek criminal prosecution.

Election Operations

The Board provides oversight and assistance to each county board of elections and the Board of Elections in the City of New York in the facilitation of ballot access efforts by candidates for a variety of public offices and party positions, as well as ensuring compliance with all state and federal laws, regularly monitoring their list maintenance activities to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the voter rolls, and visiting each board on a biannual basis to ensure that proper procedures are in place and are being followed. The Board reviews any new voting systems or changes to existing systems for testing and possible certification for use in New York State. The Board is responsible for maintenance of the NYSVoter statewide voter list, required under HAVA, which is securely connected to each county, receives data on new and updated voters and provides information to counties for list maintenance activities.

Public Campaign Finance Board

The Public Campaign Finance Board (PCFB) is responsible for the administration and oversight of a small-donor public match program for candidates campaigning for Statewide and State Legislative office. The PCFB is comprised of seven commissioners, the four existing State Board of Elections commissioners and three additional commissioners appointed by the Governor and Legislative Leaders. PCFB staff are responsible for the oversight of candidate eligibility, conducting post-election audits, reporting on program usage and statistics, providing educational and counseling services to participating candidates and imposing civil penalties for delinquency, mandated by Election Law.

Note: Most recent estimates as of 02/01/2023