Watchdog, GOP lawmaker warn NY voter registration systems lacks key safeguards

By Fox News · Fox News

One blue state is failing to enact adequate voting safeguards and refusing to correct its mistakes ahead of November’s midterm elections, an election integrity watchdog warns. Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE), a nonpartisan organization focused on election security, alleges the New York State Board of Elections (NYSBOE) stonewalled a request to fix the state’s voter registration form to comply with federal voting law. The watchdog sent the NYSBOE a letter in late 2025 outlining several violations they claimed could undermine the state’s election integrity if left unaddressed. After the board failed to correct most of the violations, RITE and Tenney are demanding the board hand over comprehensive records and data to identify additional shortcomings in the state's voter registration system. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER OVERHAULING MAIL-IN VOTING IN MAJOR ELECTION INTEGRITY PUSH "Your lack of a response is troubling and disregards the need to ensure public trust that New York is maintaining accurate voter rolls as required by federal law," they wrote in a letter to the NYSBOE earlier this week that was obtained by Fox News Digital. If the board does not meet their May 2026 deadline, RITE and Tenney say they are prepared to go to federal court to enforce compliance with federal law. The watchdog alleges two errors in New York State’s voter registration forms that violate the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). First, New York State did not instruct individuals that they must provide their driver’s license information if they have one. It also continued registering individuals who did not provide a driver’s license, the last four digits of their Social Security number or a declaration that the applicant has neither, as required by federal law. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT’S TWO DECADES OF UNLAWFUL VOTES EXPOSE THE REAL 'THREAT' TO DEMOCRACY: EXPERTS These errors have, in part, led to millions of New York voters providing incomplete information during the registration pro…