BILL NUMBER:  S6997

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the election law, in relation to voting materials in
Russian

 PURPOSE :

This bill seeks the same status for Russian that exists for five other
languages (aside from English) relating to all election-related
information, as required by federal Voting Rights Act, in cities with
over one million residents.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section one states that a board of elections in a city of over one
million provide all information that is provided in English about the
electoral process, including registration or voting notices, forms,
instructions, assistance as well as information provided at the
polling place, including voting systems, ballot marking devices and
ballots in Russian to the extent needed to allow voters who speak
Russian to participate effectively in the electoral process and all
voting-connected activities. Further, such board of elections shall
also provide the same information in Russian that it provides in
languages other than English on its website.
              

Section one also states that such board of elections shall also
produce and disseminate citywide a booklet that includes: (a) a voter
registration form in English with instructions in Russian; (b)
instructions in Russian regarding the criteria and application process
for obtaining an absentee ballot; and (c) a section with general voter
information in Russian including frequently asked questions. Such
board may include other languages on its website and in such booklet.

Section two is the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Despite a large demographic presence, New York City makes no
accommodation for Russian-speaking voters, as they do for speakers of
other languages. The U.S. Census American Community Survey estimates
there are 190,000 - 200,000 New York City residents who speak Russian
at home. These numbers have only increased since the 2011 five-year
estimate of 180,000 - 190,000 Russian speakers. Russian is the
third-highest spoken language other than English in New York City,
ranking only behind Spanish and Chinese. Russian language speakers are
also the third-highest group lacking English proficiency, just behind
Spanish and Chinese. Approximately 113,000 - 120,000 Russian-American
New Yorkers speak English "less than very well," almost twice the
number of some languages in which translated voting materials are
currently provided.

Some Assembly, State Senate, Congressional, and local districts have
significant Russian-speaking populations, with as many as 20 percent
of some districts' total populations. For instance, according to
recent U.S. Census data, Russian is the second most common non-English
language spoken in New York Congressional District 8, which includes
neighborhoods in Southern Brooklyn.

In many of these districts, Russian-Americans are being unfairly shut
out of the voting process because of a language barrier. Currently,
voting and registration materials are printed in many languages other
than English, but Russian has long been, and continues to be, ignored.
Many Russian-Americans aren't voting because they aren't registered --
and they aren't registered because they can't read the instructions in
the registration materials. In other cases, Russian-American voters
who can register are unable to understand the verbose and technical
instructions on the ballot - language that often confuses native
speakers. Providing a language accommodation for Russian speakers will
remove unfair and unnecessary barriers and provide a pathway to a
civically engaged electorate. This bill will go a long way toward
equal representation for all New Yorkers.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

Similar to Chapter 244 of 2009
2013-14 A.3456 Referred to Election Law

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

Costs to local boards of elections in cities with one million or more
residents.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take on the one hundred and twentieth day after it
shall have become law.