Public Hearing: To Review Elections Administration and Voting Rights in New York State

Senate Standing Committee on Elections
Chair: Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie
Public Hearing:  To Review Elections Administration and Voting Rights in New York State
Place:  Van Buren Hearing Room A, Legislative Office Building, 2nd Floor, Albany, NY 12247
Time: 10:00 A.M. 
Contact: Edline Jacquet, 518-455-2410
Media Contact: Matthew Baer, 202-255-9799
ORAL TESTIMONY BY INVITATION ONLY

SUBJECT:    To Review Elections Administration and Voting Rights in New York State

PURPOSE:   To solicit testimony, feedback, and recommendations on the 2020 and 2021 elections, including the Primary and General Elections and pending elections legislation. These hearings will also focus on gathering input and suggestions on how to improve New York state election laws and the administration, operations and procedures of local Boards of Elections across the state.

Recent changes in the Election Law, including some prompted by the COVID-19 crisis, have endeavored to make voting in New York easier and more accessible. As a result, voter participation has increased substantially. At the same time, we have seen continued impediments to voting in New York, such as insufficient poll site staffing and long lines across the state during the early voting period, absentee ballot errors, serious administrative challenges to processing and maintaining voter registrations, and other issues. This hearing, as well as others, will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to provide testimony and respond to concerns that will help make the administration of New York’s elections more efficient, transparent, and in service to the voter.

In addition, these hearings will address recent canvassing and other election administration errors by the New York City Board of Elections and other local Boards of Election across the State. They will focus on bringing accountability to the election administration process across the state with a focus on ensuring that our elections are administered fairly and competently, and that voters' rights are protected.

Providing Testimony to the Committee:

Oral testimony will be by invitation only and will be limited to 5 minutes’ duration. Ten copies (10) of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committee would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements. Persons invited to testify should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified of means by which to testify and/or in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.

Upon review of the form submitted, the Committee will determine whether you will be scheduled to testify. While the Committee will endeavor to schedule as many persons to testify as is possible, representing a wide divergence of views, time constraints may not allow for all witnesses to testify.

In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee’s interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

Attendees and participants at any legislative public hearing should be aware that these proceedings are video recorded. Their likenesses may be included in any video coverage shown on television or the internet.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Senate, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities.  For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Senate facilities and activities.