Throughout 2024, the Division of Election Law Enforcement (DELE) has made improvements to uphold its mission of protecting the integrity of New York State Elections. The DELE works vigorously to ensure compliance with the State’s election laws that fall under its jurisdiction. This vital mission includes preventing voter disenfranchisement, upholding campaign finance regulations, enforcing reporting requirements, ensuring public trust in the petition process, and maintaining ethical election standards. Overcoming challenges to the election process is essential to bolstering public trust.  

Under my leadership, DELE prioritizes transparency, clear and accurate public communication, and proactive issue resolution to foster confidence in election procedures. The DELE aims to ensure that all involved in the election process abide by the NYS Election Law and that their rights are protected.

The DELE has recently launched a new case management system to tackle these challenges head-on. The new case management system automates administrative tasks, increasing efficiency and allowing the DELE to utilize its resources better. This enhancement will streamline handling the increased complaint volume the DELE has seen in the past year. The online complaint form has allowed DELE to identify complaint patterns across the state. Using these patterns, the DELE can proactively respond to identified problem areas, allocate resources to high-risk or time-sensitive issues, and better understand what the public considers important.  

Since the start of the 2024 Primary Election season, the DELE has been busy dealing with allegations of electioneering and numerous issues related to the petition signature-collecting process. As we move towards the 2024 General Election in November, the DELE will continue to thoroughly investigate all complaints we receive involving allegations of NYS Election Law violations.

In line with DELE’s commitment to protecting the anonymity of individuals who report potential election law violations, we have recently changed our mailing address to P.O. Box 739, Albany, NY 12201. This change to a Post Office Box was implemented to prevent unauthorized access to potentially confidential information, including complainant information and the substance of allegations made. This proactive step underscores the DELE’s dedication to protecting and prioritizing the integrity of the election law enforcement process.  Please do not send any correspondence intended for the New York State Board of Elections or the Public Campaign Finance Board to the DELE's Post Office Box.

Protecting the integrity of democracy is complex, but the DELE will continue to meet the challenge of investigating all allegations of election law violations that fall under our jurisdiction. 

Michael L. Johnson