On November 24, 2025, Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) sent a letter to the Co-Executive Directors of the New York State Board of Elections (NYSBOE) raising concerns that New York’s voter registration practices conflict with both the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and New York State law. The letter details two primary areas of noncompliance regarding how New York registers voters.
First, RITE argues that New York State’s voter registration form conflicts with the requirements of HAVA. New York’s voter registration form allows those registering to vote to provide either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of the registrant’s Social Security Number (SSN). The form states that voters may give either number.
RITE argues, however, that this conflicts with the voter registration requirements of HAVA. HAVA requires that voters, when registering, provide their driver’s license number. Only if a voter does not have a driver’s license may the voter then provide the last four digits of his or her SSN when registering to vote. Because New York’s voter registration form allows voters to choose freely between providing a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security Number, RITE argues that New York is violating the mandates of HAVA.
RITE also argues that New York’s regulations on registering voters fail to comply with HAVA. According to RITE, New York’s voter registration regulations violate HAVA by requiring that county Boards of Elections register applicants who provide neither a driver’s license number nor an SSN, and who fail to affirm that they possess neither.
While HAVA permits the registration of applicants who actively affirm they possess neither number, RITE argues that HAVA explicitly prohibits processing applications where the required information is simply omitted. RITE alleges that New York’s practice of approving these incomplete voter registration applications directly conflicts with the federal prohibition on accepting them.
Finally, RITE proposes that the New York State Board of Elections fix these alleged violations of HAVA by altering the language used on New York’s voter registration form and amending its regulations on the processing of voter registration applications. RITE also requests that the Board conduct an audit to determine how many nonconforming forms have been processed and notify registered voters who are missing required numbers to provide them immediately.
RITE has requested a response from the New York State Board of Elections by December 8, 2025.
Regardless of whether or not the NYSBOE agrees with RITE’s arguments, RITE’s letter signals that New York’s voter registration law and regulations are likely to receive greater scrutiny in the months ahead. As the 2026 election season begins to take shape, candidates, party leaders, and political consultants would be wise to pay close attention to this matter to see if and how it is resolved.