New York Oneida County Voter Registration and Provisional Ballot Challenge

Lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) against the Oneida County, New York Board of Elections (BOE) challenging election procedures during the 2020 election. The DOJ alleges that the Oneida County BOE violated Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by failing to process all “timely-filed voter registration applications” and subsequently failing to “add the names of all eligible applicants to the list of eligible voters for the November 3, 2020 federal general election.” The DOJ also alleges that the BOE violated the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) by failing to “promptly verify approximately 1,797 provisional ballots cast in the November 3, 2020, federal general election, and b) count those votes determined to be cast by duly registered voters.” The plaintiff requests that the court declare that the defendant violated Section 8 of the NVRA and Section 302 of HAVA and prevent it from failing to process timely filed voter registration applications and verify provisional ballots. 

On July 13, 2021, the DOJ and BOE entered into a consent decree (an agreement) that stated that Oneida County’s failure to process timely submitted voter registration applications and verify nearly 1,800 provisional ballots violated the NVRA and HAVA. The consent decree states that “all voter registration applicants receive timely notification of the disposition of the voter registration applications in advance of an election for federal office; and that all voters who cast provisional ballots should have their ballots validated promptly and, when cast by eligible voters, counted in an election for federal office.” Additionally, the consent decree established a remedial process wherein the BOE had to develop and implement procedures to ensure compliance with the NVRA and HAVA. 

Last updated: April 12, 2023 12:17 pm EST