S 7116: Enacts the "voting integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)"; provides that each voter is entitled to the use of an individual, voter verifiable paper ballot of the voter's vote and the opportunity to mark it.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7116 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 1, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to enacting the "voting integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "voting 2 integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY)". 3 § 2. Section 1-104 of the election law is amended by adding two new 4 subdivisions 40 and 41 to read as follows: 5 40. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the term "nontabulat- 6 ing ballot marking device" means a voting machine that cannot and does 7 not count or transmit votes and does not retain any official record of 8 the voters' selections, but can mark or print voters' selections and 9 have those selections printed on an individual, voter verifiable paper 10 ballot. 11 41. The term "human readable paper ballot" means a paper ballot where 12 all the candidates, ballot proposals and selections that could be tabu- 13 lated are readable without assistance, other than eyeglasses or other 14 standard personal vision enhancing devices. 15 § 3. Subdivision 26 of section 7-104 of the election law, as added by 16 chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 17 26. All paper ballots of the same kind for the same [polling place] 18 election district shall be identical. Each voter voting in a polling 19 place is entitled to the use of an individual, voter verifiable paper 20 ballot of the voter's vote and the opportunity to mark it privately and 21 independently. For the purposes of this title, the term "individual, 22 voter verifiable paper ballot" means a human readable paper ballot that 23 is either (a) marked by the voter by hand; or (b) marked through the use 24 of a nontabulating ballot marking device. Voters shall have both options EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04096-01-5 
 S. 7116 2 1 in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision available in every polling 2 place. 3 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 7-106 of the election law, as amended by 4 chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 5 3. All paper ballots of the same kind for the same [polling place] 6 election district shall be identical. 7 § 5. Voting machines and systems purchased prior to the effective date 8 of this act may continue to be used and maintained if they are designed 9 and constructed to utilize individual, voter-verifiable paper ballots. 10 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.