New York State Board of Elections
Absentee Voting
The State Board of Elections is responsible for administering and enforcing all election laws in New York State, and for overseeing 62 County Boards of Elections. We examined whether the absentee voting process was adequately overseen by the State Board of Elections and concluded that the Board had not provided adequate oversight. For example, when we examined absentee voting practices in seven selected counties, we found that the practices were not always properly administered. In particular, six of the seven counties accepted applications that should have been rejected, either because they were incomplete or because the voter was not registered to vote in that county. In addition, the voter databases in five of the seven counties were not always promptly updated to reflect changes. We recommended certain improvements be made in the Board’s oversight of the absentee voting process.
For a complete copy of Report 2007-S-65 click here.