Election Administration and Voting Law

Election-integrity group Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) and Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., say New York's State Board of Elections is violating the federal Help America Vote Act by failing to require key identifying information on voter registration forms and by continuing to process incomplete applications. In letters sent beginning in late 2025 and renewed this week, they allege the board does not instruct applicants to provide a driver's license if they have one and accepts registrations without a driver's license number, last four digits of a Social Security number, or a sworn statement that the applicant has neither, contrary to HAVA. Citing a 2022 Public Interest Legal Foundation report that at least 3.1 million registered New Yorkers lack both identifiers on file, RITE argues the state's practices make accurate voter-roll maintenance harder and erode public trust in election integrity. The group and Tenney say the board has stonewalled their requests, including a proposed audit to quantify incomplete registrations, and they have set a May 2026 deadline before they move to federal court to force compliance and obtain records. The dispute underscores how technical implementation of federal election laws in a major blue state is becoming another front in the national fight over voter eligibility, list maintenance and safeguards ahead of the midterms.