STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8394 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY December 13, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to audits by hand recount of voter verifiable audit records The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 9-211 of the election law, as 2 amended by chapter 763 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 1. Within fifteen days after each general or special election, within 5 thirteen days after every primary election, and within seven days after 6 every village election conducted by the board of elections, the board of 7 elections or a bipartisan committee appointed by such board shall audit 8 the voter verifiable audit records from three percent of voting machines 9 or systems within the jurisdiction of such board. Such audits [may] 10 shall be performed [manually or via the use of any automated tool 11 authorized for such use by the state board of elections which is inde- 12 pendent from the voting system it is being used to audit] by a hand 13 recount. Voting machines or systems shall be selected for audit through 14 a random, manual process. At least five days prior to the time fixed for 15 such selection process, the board of elections shall send notice by 16 first class mail to each candidate, political party and independent body 17 entitled to have had watchers present at the polls in any election 18 district in such board's jurisdiction. Such notice shall state the time 19 and place fixed for such random selection process. The audit shall be 20 conducted in the same manner, to the extent applicable, as a canvass of 21 paper ballots. Each candidate, political party or independent body enti- 22 tled to appoint watchers to attend at a polling place shall be entitled 23 to appoint such number of watchers to observe the audit. 24 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02262-01-3