U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Votig Section -NWB 950 Pemsyvania Ae, NWP Washington, DC 20530 February 8, 2011 VIA FIRST CLASS MAIL AND ELECTRONIC MAIL Jeffrey M. Dvorin. Assistant Attorney General Litigation Bureau The Attomey General's Office The Capitol Albany, New York 12224 Paul M. Collins Kimberly A. Galvin New York State Board of Elections Office of Special Counsel 40 Steuben Street Albany, New York 12207 Re: Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act Dear Mr. Dvorin, Mr. Collins, and Ms. Galvin: I write in reference to the State of New York's compliance with the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (“UOCAVA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973ff to 197347, as amended by the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, Pub. L. No. 111-84, 123 Stat. 2190 (2009) (“MOVE Act”). Specifically, we wish to follow up on the consent decree entered on October 19, 2010 in United States v. State of New York, Civil Action No. 1:10-CV-1214 (N.D.N.Y.), that was necessary to remedy the State’s failure to comply with UOCAVA’s requirement in Section 102(a)(8), 42 U.S.C. § 19734f-1(a)(8), that military and overseas voters who had requested absentee ballots be sent their ballots at least 45 days before the Federal general election held on ‘November 2, 2010, unless the State had been granted a hardship exemption pursuant to Section 102(g) of the statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1973ff-1(g). While the State obtained a waiver from UOCAVA’s 45-day requirement for the November 2010 federal election, the State nonetheless did not comply with the terms of its waiver application. Indeed, election officials in at least 13 New York counties failed to send ballots by the October 1 mailing deadline established in the State’s waiver application, precipitating litigation to protect the State’s UOCAVA voters.‘As you may recall, in the consent decree settling that litigation, the State acknowledged that, absent a waiver from the Department of Defense, “changes in state law, the state election schedule, and/or election procedures are necessary to prevent future violations of UOCAVA.” Oct. 19, 2010 Consent Decree at 11-12. ‘The State therefore committed to “explor{e] the need for future relief, including possible changes of law or administrative regulation to assure that UOCAVA voters shall have a fair and reasonable opportunity to participate in future Federal elections, and to address potential UOCAVA violations arising from the State's Federal election schedule or election practices.” Id. at 12. Further, the parties agreed “to confer on the progress of these efforts” with the State committing to “provide a status report to the United States Department of Justice by April 1, 2011.” Id. In anticipation of your submission of that April 1 status report, we would like to confer with you by telephone regarding any actions New York has taken to date, and its timetable for future undertakings in this regard, including any new laws, procedures, or practices under consideration, We would also like to discuss the questions raised in emails from our office to counsel for the Board of Elections dated January 5, 7, 11, and 25, 2011, seeking clarification of information provided by the State regarding UOCAVA statistics in New York counties for the November 2, 2010 election. To date we have received incomplete responses to those inquiries. Finally, we would like to discuss the status of the State’s adoption of a MOVE Act- compliant special election schedule, pursuant to the March 26, 2009 consent decree entered in an earlier enforcement action, United States v. State of New York, Civil Action No. 1:09-ev-335 WDNY) We would like to confer on these matters by telephone the week of February 14, 2011. At your earliest convenience, therefore, we request that you contact Voting Section Attorney ‘Amanda Gregory at (202) 305-7540 to schedule a time to discuss this matter further and to address any questions you may have. We appreciate your cooperation in our continuing efforts, to ensure that military and overseas voters are afforded the voting opportunities guaranteed under UOCAVA. Rich: ellheim Deputy Chief, Voting Section