§ 3-220 — Records and photostats; preservation and sale

New York § 3-220

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law ELN: Election
• Title 2: Board of Elections
• Art. 3: Election Officials

Text

§ 3-220. Records and photostats; preservation and sale. 1. All\nregistration records, certificates, lists, and inventories referred to\nin, or required by, this chapter shall be public records and open to\npublic inspection under the immediate supervision of the board of\nelections or its employees and subject to such reasonable regulations as\nsuch board may impose, provided, however, that a voter's driver's\nlicense number, department of motor vehicle non-driver photo ID number,\nsocial security number and facsimile number shall not be released for\npublic inspection. No such records shall be handled at any time by any\nperson other than a member of a registration board or board of\ninspectors of elections or board of elections except as provided by\nrules imposed by the board of elections.\n 2. The central file registration records shall be kept in locked\nfiling cabinets in the office of the board of elections or, in the\nappropriate branch offices of the board of elections. Such records shall\nbe taken from such file and handled only where necessary to make entries\nthereon or take other action in connection therewith as required by this\narticle. The board of elections may cause to be made, photostatic copy\nor copies of the registration poll records of registered voters in any\nelection district and shall cause such photostatic copies to be placed\nin one or more ledgers in the same manner and in the same order as the\noriginal registration poll records appear in the ledger or ledgers\ncontaining the registration poll records for such election district.\nSuch photostatic records shall be open to public inspection, in lieu of\nthe original registration records.\n 3. Registration records which have been mutilated or voided or which,\nfollowing the refusal of a board taking registrations to permit an\napplicant to register, have been marked "Refused" shall be retained by\nthe board of elections for at least two years. Upon destruction of any\nsuch records the board shall keep a file of the serial numbers of the\nrecords so destroyed. Reports of deaths shall be retained by the board\nof elections for two years. In January of each year, the board of\nelections may remove from its files and may destroy the check cards of\npersons whose registrations were cancelled more than two years\npreviously.\n 4. Subsequent to the expiration of ten years after the receipt thereof\nor, in the case of registration records, subsequent to the expiration of\ntwo years after cancellation of the registration to which they relate,\nthe board of elections, in lieu of preserving any of the records as\nhereinbefore provided, may preserve photostatic, microphotographic or\nphotographic film copies thereof, and may destroy the original records\nand is authorized to do so in accordance with the provisions of article\nthirteen of the state finance law. If the board of elections maintains a\ncomputer readable registration record for each registered voter, which\nincludes a copy of the entire registration poll record or application\nfor registration of each such voter, the original poll record or\napplication for registration may, with the permission of the state board\nof elections, be so destroyed subsequent to the expiration of two years\nafter such copy is entered in the computer readable record. If such\ncopies in the computer readable record do not include the backs of those\nregistration poll records which have been used at one or more elections,\nthen all such poll records which have been used at one or more elections\nmay, with the permission of the state board of elections, be so\ndestroyed subsequent to the expiration of two years after such copy is\nentered in the computer readable record, or subsequent to the expiration\nof four years after the last election at which such poll record was\nused, whichever is later.\n 5. Any such photostatic, microphotographic or photographic film copy\nmade pursuant to this section or any such computer readable record shall\nbe deemed to be an original record for all purposes and, when\nsatisfactorily identified, may be introduced in evidence in any judicial\nor administrative proceeding. An enlargement, facsimile or certified\ncopy thereof shall, for all purposes, be deemed to be an enlargement,\nfacsimile or certified copy of the original record and may likewise be\nintroduced in evidence if the film copy or the computer readable record\nis in existence and available for inspection under direction of the\ncourt or administrative agency. The introduction in evidence of a film\ncopy or a copy of a computer readable record, or an enlargement,\nfacsimile or certified copy thereof, shall not preclude introduction of\nthe original record.\n 6. All petitions, certificates, objections or papers filed or\ndeposited with a board or officer before an election or primary and\nrelating to designations or nominations, and all registers, books,\nstatements, returns or papers so filed or deposited after registration,\nenrollment, election or primary at which they were used or to which they\nrelate, not including, however, the voted, unused, protested, void or\nwholly blank ballots, shall be preserved by such board or officer for at\nleast two years after the receipt thereof and until the determination of\nany action or proceeding touching the same or in which they are ordered\nto be preserved pending the action or proceeding and at the expiration\nof such time they may be either destroyed or sold. Lists of registered\nvoters with computer generated facsimile signatures used in lieu of\nregistration poll records at any election shall be preserved until the\nend of the second calendar year after the year of such election. In all\njurisdictions, the original statements of results made by the state\nboard of canvassers or a county or city board of canvassers and any\noriginal record specifying the name of a person declared to have been\nelected to a public office shall not be destroyed or sold but shall be\npreserved, as part of the records of such board or officer, until\notherwise provided by law.\n 6-a. During the period prescribed by subdivision six of this section,\nno petition shall be removed from the office of the board of elections\nfor copying or any other purpose except while in the custody, or under\nthe supervision of a member or employee of such board or pursuant to\ncourt order.\n 7. Upon the sale of any property authorized by this section to be\ndestroyed or sold, the proceeds shall be paid over as follows: If sold\nby the board of elections, the proceeds shall be paid into the county\ntreasury, or, in the city of New York, into the city treasury. If sold\nby the clerk of a city, town or village, the proceeds shall be paid to\nits fiscal officer for its benefit. Proceeds of the sale of any such\nproperty in the office of the state board of elections shall be paid\nover as provided by law with respect to other state moneys in the hands\nof a state officer.\n 8. Where a board of elections receives a notification pursuant to\nparagraph (c) of subdivision two of section eight hundred fifty-nine of\nthe judiciary law, such board of elections shall comply with such\nnotification, except that where the notification requires the board of\nelections to cease making a person's address public, such board shall\nnot comply therewith from the date of filing of any ballot access or\nrelated document containing such address until thirty days after the\nlast day to commence a special proceeding or action with respect to such\nfiling.\n