The Help America Vote Act (HAVA), signed by President Bush last October, requires a major overhaul of the way Americans register and vote by mandating the states to meet several voting system standards and providing them with substantial funding to improve voting procedures. This report reviews each provision of HAVA, interprets them from a legal perspective, and describes how they provisions might best be complied with and/or implemented in New York. Based on their analysis of the legislation and extensive knowledge of New York election law and procedures, the authors make recommendations for innovative changes and improvements in the state�s election practices. Recommendations in the report include: New York State must replace ALL of its lever machines; the State should have a single kind of voting machine statewide; New York State should set its own benchmarks for voting success that go beyond what HAVA requires; there should be uniform voter education and poll worker materials throughout New York State; New York State should take steps, including passing legislation, to get media assistance with voter education; New York State must develop a centralized statewide voter list, not just link local lists; and New York State needs to ensure new ID rules do not have a chilling effect on voting and registration.