New York GOP lawmakers are demanding Governor Hochul launch an independent audit to expose potential fraud vulnerabilities in the state’s election system, citing serious concerns about absentee ballot irregularities that mirror problems uncovered in Minnesota.
Story Highlights
- NYC audit revealed 484 duplicate voter records and 9,218 rejected ballots due to processing defects
- Board of Elections issued absentee ballots without proper authorization, creating fraud opportunities
- Current 3% audit requirement deemed insufficient by election integrity experts
- Historical audits show decades-long pattern of voter registration failures and ineligible voters remaining active
Damning Audit Exposes Systematic Election Vulnerabilities
The 2022 NYC Comptroller audit uncovered alarming weaknesses in New York’s absentee ballot system that should concern every American who values election integrity. The Board of Elections issued ballots without proper authorization and failed to maintain accurate voter rolls, with 484 duplicate records discovered. These control failures create clear pathways for fraudulent voting while simultaneously disenfranchising legitimate voters through administrative incompetence.
The audit documented 9,218 rejected ballots, with 66% classified as defective due to undeliverable mail addresses and signature mismatches. This represents a massive failure in basic election administration that undermines confidence in results. The Board’s inability to properly verify voter eligibility before issuing ballots demonstrates the kind of systemic negligence that threatens the constitutional principle of one person, one vote.
Decades of Documented Election Administration Failures
This isn’t New York’s first rodeo with election irregularities. A 1990s State Comptroller audit of NYC Elections found similar failures in processing voter registrations and maintaining records of deceased and ineligible voters. The pattern shows decades of institutional neglect that has allowed ineligible voters to remain active on rolls. These persistent problems indicate a culture of lax oversight that enables potential fraud while violating the rights of legitimate voters.
The current system processes absentee applications through AVID and BATS systems with observed operational deficiencies in envelope inspection and canvassing procedures. Public access to voter data combined with weak verification controls creates opportunities for bad actors to exploit the system. New York’s election infrastructure appears designed more for convenience than security, a dangerous prioritization that puts election integrity at risk.
Inadequate Audit Standards Leave Voters Vulnerable
New York’s 2005 law requiring audits of just 3% of voting machines provides woefully insufficient oversight for detecting fraud or errors. The American Statistical Association has questioned whether this limited sampling can reliably catch problems, while election security experts have identified major flaws in providing evidence of accuracy. This minimal audit requirement essentially gives election officials a free pass to operate without meaningful accountability.
The current audit framework allows discrepancies to trigger additional reviews, but the initial 3% threshold is too small to catch systematic problems. Other states conduct hand counts in larger percentages of precincts, recognizing that robust verification requires comprehensive review. New York’s weak standards leave taxpayers and voters in the dark about the true integrity of their elections, making independent audits essential for restoring public trust.
Sources:
Verified Voting – New York Audit Law
NYS Comptroller Audit of NYC Board of Elections 1993-1995
New York Election Law Article 9 Title 2 Section 9-211
