MONTICELLO — At the Sullivan County Legislature’s Human Resources Committee meeting on September 11, Information Technology Services (ITS) Commissioner Lorne Green updated the committee on a resolution that was passed at the annual meeting of New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) in Niagara Falls earlier that week. 

As Chair of the Information Technology (IT) Taskforce, Green presented a resolution to NYSAC peers to explore the possibility of a centralized, cybersecure voting registration system for all of New York State. 

The resolution passed the IT Taskforce and the full NYSAC delegation unanimously. It will now head to the New York State Board of Elections (NYSBOE) and Governor Kathy Hochul’s office for consideration.

NYSAC Deputy Director Mark Lavigne provided some background, saying, “This is not a new idea,” but that it’s the first time NYSAC has officially endorsed such a resolution. 

After the 2016 election, Green said New York State provided seed money to implement secure elections infrastructure in each county of the state, but that the money was distributed based on voter registration and was thus unequal across counties. 

“The idea is to push [those costs] back on the state... and stop pushing it down on the local municipalities. That’s a very important initiative that everybody agreed to up there [at NYSAC],” Green told the legislators. 

Lavigne agreed, saying, “There are 57 counties plus New York City that all have their own election boards, and they are responsible for meeting the state’s mandates [for cybersecurity].” He said that some larger counties have very sophisticated and secure systems that other counties can’t afford to purchase and maintain, so NYSAC has endorsed the initiative to study the possibility of centralizing voter infrastructure. “The resolution calls for an exploration of what a centralized New York State voter registration system would look like and how it could be implemented,” said Lavigne. 

If the resolution is supported by the NYSBOE and Governor Hochul, Lavigne said the next step would be to set up a committee to conduct a study. 

“Maybe they will study what we’d like to see happen, and by the end of next year we’ll know whether or not it’s something that they can move forward on,” Green remarked.