New York S 8615: Establishes an election security navigator program within the state board of elections

Bill Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8615
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
December 12, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. GONZALEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to establishing the
election security navigator program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings and declaration. The legislature here-
2 by finds that New York's elections are administered by a decentralized
3 network of state and county boards of elections, many of which face
4 resource constraints and limited technical staffing capacity. In light
5 of growing cybersecurity threats, sophisticated disinformation
6 campaigns, and physical threats to election infrastructure and opera-
7 tional disruptions, coordinated state support is necessary to safeguard
8 New York's election systems. To ensure that local boards of elections
9 receive technical guidance, training, and response assistance tailored
10 to their specific vulnerabilities and resource levels, the legislature
11 declares that the public interest requires that a dedicated election
12 security navigator program be established with funding adequate to
13 support the maximum number of county boards of elections who seek such
14 support.
15 § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 3-113 to read
16 as follows:
17 § 3-113. Election security navigator program. 1. For the purposes of
18 this section:
19 (a) "Navigator program" shall mean the election security navigator
20 program established pursuant to this section.
21 (b) "Program director" shall mean the director of the navigator
22 program.
23 2. (a) There is hereby established within the state board of elections
24 an election security navigator program. The head of such program shall
25 be the program director who shall be appointed by the state board of
EXPLANATION--Matter in (underscored) is new; matter in bracketsitalics
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13952-02-5

S. 8615 2
1 elections. The program director shall have expertise in election
2 cybersecurity, operational security, and personnel management.
3 (b) The navigator program shall have the following functions, powers
4 and duties:
5 (i) provide assistance on a voluntary basis for local boards of
6 elections in mitigating cybersecurity threats, improving physical and
7 operational preparedness, and enhancing public confidence in the integ-
8 rity of elections;
9 (ii) develop and operate the navigator program based on a system that
10 prioritizes requests for allocation of services that considers local
11 boards of elections' need, risk, and available resources, as determined
12 by the state board of elections;
13 (iii) employ or contract election security navigators to carry out the
14 functions and duties of the navigator program with respect to local
15 boards of elections and local jurisdictions and serve as a liaison
16 between the state board of elections, local jurisdictions, and local
17 boards of elections;
18 (iv) facilitate information sharing between the state board of
19 elections, local jurisdictions, and local boards of elections on
20 election threats, vulnerabilities, and incident reports;
21 (v) conduct or coordinate ongoing risk assessments for election
22 offices and infrastructure;
23 (vi) assist with incident response planning, continuity of operations
24 planning, and tabletop exercises;
25 (vii) provide training and standardized guidance materials to support
26 local preparedness;
27 (viii) coordinate access to appropriate and trustworthy international,
28 federal, state, multi-state, and private cybersecurity resources that
29 currently exist or have yet to be formed;
30 (ix) assist local boards of elections in applying for funding opportu-
31 nities or deploying available funds related to election security includ-
32 ing, but not limited to, federal grants under the Help America Vote Act,
33 the Homeland Security Grant Program, and the State and Local Cybersecur-
34 ity Grant Program; and
35 (x) develop an election security navigators student program in part-
36 nership with the state university of New York.
37 3. No later than three months after the effective date of this
38 section, the state board of elections shall commence the process of
39 designing the election security navigator program through a needs-based
40 assessment considering:
41 (a) state election security support and services;
42 (b) the capabilities and needs of local jurisdictions as regards local
43 boards of elections, including the needs for: cybersecurity expertise,
44 incident response coordination, incident response plan development, and
45 exercises that include incident response scenarios;
46 (c) direct consultation with a representative sample of local boards
47 of elections; and
48 (d) consultation with:
49