S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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10357
I N A S S E M B L Y
May 20, 2024
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Walker) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to voting rights; to amend
chapter 226 of the laws of 2022 amending the election law relating to
establishing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York, estab-
lishing rights of action for denying or abridging of the right of any
member of a protected class to vote, providing assistance to
language-minority groups, requiring certain political subdivisions to
receive preclearance for potential violations of the NYVRA, and creat-
ing civil liability for voter intimidation, in relation to making
technical changes; and to repeal certain provisions of the election
law relating to voting rights
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 17-204 of the election law, as
added by chapter 226 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
5. "Protected class" means a class of [eligible voters] INDIVIDUALS
who are members of a race, color, or language-minority group, INCLUDING
INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF A MINIMUM REPORTING CATEGORY THAT HAS
EVER BEEN OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU.
§ 2. Subdivision 10 of section 17-204 of the election law is REPEALED.
§ 3. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section
17-206 of the election law, as added by chapter 226 of the laws of 2022,
is amended to read as follows:
(ii) used a district-based or alternative method of election and that
candidates or electoral choices preferred by members of the protected
class would usually be defeated, and either: (A) voting patterns of
members of the protected class within the political subdivision are
racially polarized; or (B) under the totality of the circumstances, the
ability of members of the protected class to elect candidates of their
choice or influence the outcome of elections is impaired[; or].
§ 4. The opening paragraph of subdivision 7 of section 17-206 of the
election law, as added by chapter 226 of the laws of 2022, is amended to
read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13768-08-4
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Notification requirement and safe harbor for judicial actions. Before
commencing a judicial action against a political subdivision under this
section, a prospective plaintiff shall send by certified mail a written
notice to the clerk of the political subdivision, or, if the political
subdivision does not have a clerk, the governing body of the political
subdivision, against which the action would be brought, asserting that
the political subdivision may be in violation of this title. This writ-
ten notice shall be referred to as a "NYVRA notification letter" in this
title. THE NYVRA NOTIFICATION LETTER SHALL SPECIFY THE POTENTIAL
VIOLATION OR VIOLATIONS ALLEGED AND SHALL CONTAIN A STATEMENT OF FACTS
TO SUPPORT SUCH ALLEGATION; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT FAILURE TO SO SPECI-
FY SHALL NOT BE A BASIS FOR DISMISSAL OF SUCH JUDICIAL ACTION, BUT MAY
AFFECT THE CALCULATION OF REIMBURSEMENT PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (E) OF
THIS SUBDIVISION. THE PROSPECTIVE PLAINTIFF SHALL ALSO SEND BY FIRST
CLASS MAIL OR EMAIL A COPY OF THE NYVRA NOTIFICATION LETTER TO THE CIVIL
RIGHTS BUREAU. For actions against a school district or any other poli-
tical subdivision that holds elections governed by the education law,
the prospective plaintiff shall also send by certified mail a copy of
the NYVRA notification letter to the commissioner of education.
§ 5. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 7 of section 17-206 of the election
law, as added by chapter 226 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) Before receiving a NYVRA notification letter, or within fifty days
of mailing of a NYVRA notification letter, the governing body of a poli-
tical subdivision may pass a resolution affirming: (i) the political
subdivision's intention to enact and implement a remedy for a potential
violation of this title; (ii) specific steps the political subdivision
will undertake to facilitate approval and implementation of such a reme-
dy; and (iii) a schedule for enacting and implementing such a remedy.
Such a resolution shall be referred to as a "NYVRA resolution" in this
title. If a political subdivision passes a NYVRA resolution, such poli-
tical subdivision shall have ninety days after such passage to enact and
implement such remedy, during which a prospective plaintiff shall not
commence an action to enforce this section against the political subdi-
vision. For actions against a school district, the commissioner of
education may order the enactment of a NYVRA resolution pursuant to the
commissioner's authority under section three hundred five of the educa-
tion law. WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF PASSING A NYVRA RESOLUTION, THE POLI-
TICAL SUBDIVISION SHALL SEND BY FIRST CLASS MAIL OR EMAIL A COPY OF THE
RESOLUTION TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU.
§ 6. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 7 of section
17-206 of the election law, as added by chapter 226 of the laws of 2022,
is amended to read as follows:
(i) The governing body of the political subdivision may approve a
proposed remedy that complies with this title and submit such a proposed
remedy to the civil rights bureau NO LATER THAN ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS
AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE NYVRA RESOLUTION. Such a submission shall be
referred to as a "NYVRA proposal" in this title.
§ 7. Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 7 of section
17-206 of the election law, as added by chapter 226 of the laws of 2022,
is amended to read as follows:
(iii) Within [forty-five] SIXTY days of receipt of a NYVRA proposal,
the civil rights bureau shall grant or deny approval of the NYVRA
proposal. THE CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU MAY INVOKE AN EXTENSION OF UP TO TWEN-
TY DAYS TO REVIEW THE PROPOSAL.
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§ 8. Subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 7 of section
17-206 of the election law, as added by chapter 226 of the laws of 2022,
is amended to read as follows:
(iv) The civil rights bureau shall only grant approval to the NYVRA
proposal if it concludes that: (A) the political subdivision may be in
violation of this title; (B) the NYVRA proposal would remedy any poten-
tial violation of this title CITED IN THE NYVRA NOTIFICATION LETTER AND
WOULD NOT GIVE RISE TO ANY OTHER VIOLATION OF THIS TITLE; (C) the NYVRA
proposal is unlikely to violate the constitution or any RELEVANT federal
law; AND (D) [the NYVRA proposal would not diminish the ability of
protected class members to participate in the political process and to
elect their preferred candidates to office; and (E)] implementation of
the NYVRA proposal is feasible.
§ 9. Subdivision 3 of section 17-210 of the election law, as added by
chapter 226 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
3. Covered entity. A "covered entity" shall include: (a) any political
subdivision which, within the previous twenty-five years, has become
subject to a court order or government enforcement action based upon a
finding of any violation of this title, the federal voting rights act,
the fifteenth amendment to the United States constitution, or a voting-
related violation of the fourteenth amendment to the United States
constitution; (b) any political subdivision which, within the previous
twenty-five years, has become subject to at least three court orders or
government enforcement actions based upon a finding of any violation of
any state or federal civil rights law or the fourteenth amendment to the
United States constitution concerning discrimination against members of
a protected class; (c) any county in which, based on data provided by
the division of criminal justice services, the combined misdemeanor and
felony arrest rate of VOTING AGE members of any protected class consist-
ing of at least ten thousand citizens of voting age or whose members
comprise at least ten percent of the citizen voting age population of
the county, exceeds the proportion that the protected class constitutes
of the citizen voting age population of the county as a whole by at
least twenty [percent] PERCENTAGE POINTS at any point within the previ-
ous ten years; [or] (d) any political subdivision in which, based on
data made available by the United States census, the dissimilarity index
of any protected class consisting of at least twenty-five thousand citi-
zens of voting age or whose members comprise at least ten percent of the
citizen voting age population of the political subdivision, is in excess
of fifty with respect to non-Hispanic white [citizens of voting age]
INDIVIDUALS within the political subdivision at any point within the
previous ten years[. If any covered entity is a]; (E) ANY political
subdivision in which a board of elections has been established, [that
board of elections shall also be deemed] IF SUCH POLITICAL SUBDIVISION
CONTAINS a covered entity[. If] FULLY WITHIN ITS BORDERS; OR (F) any
[political subdivision in which a] board of elections THAT has been
established [contains a covered entity fully within its borders, that]
IN A political subdivision [and that board of elections shall both be
deemed] THAT IS a covered entity PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A), (B), (C),
(D) OR (E) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
§ 10. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (f) of subdivision 4 of section
17-210 of the election law, as added by chapter 226 of the laws of 2022,
is amended to read as follows:
(ii) [Upon a showing of good cause, the] THE civil rights bureau may
[receive] INVOKE an extension of up to twenty days to make a determi-
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nation pursuant to this paragraph, IF THE CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU DETERMINES
THAT GOOD CAUSE EXISTS FOR SUCH EXTENSION.
§ 11. Subdivision 7 of section 17-210 of the election law, as added by
chapter 226 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
7. [Rules and regulations. The civil rights bureau may promulgate such
rules and regulations as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of
this section.] NOTIFICATION. (A) ANY POLITICAL SUBDIVISION THAT BECOMES
SUBJECT TO A COURT ORDER OR GOVERNMENT ENFORCEMENT ACTION AS PROVIDED IN
PARAGRAPH (A) OR (B) OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOTIFY
THE CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF THE ISSUANCE OF SUCH ORDER
OR ENFORCEMENT ACTION.
(B) ANY POLITICAL SUBDIVISION THAT BECOMES INVOLVED IN LITIGATION
CONCERNING VOTING SHALL NOTIFY THE CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU WITHIN THIRTY
DAYS OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF SUCH LITIGATION.
(C) NO MORE THAN THIRTY DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF A LIST OF COVERED
ENTITIES BY THE CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU, EACH COVERED ENTITY INCLUDED IN
SUCH LIST SHALL NOTIFY THE CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU OF THE NAME, EMAIL
ADDRESS, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER OF AN INDIVIDUAL WITH THE AUTHORITY TO
SUBMIT COVERED POLICIES FOR PRECLEARANCE ON BEHALF OF THE COVERED ENTI-
TY. EACH SUCH COVERED ENTITY SHALL NOTIFY THE CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU WITHIN
THIRTY DAYS OF ANY MATERIAL CHANGE TO THE INFORMATION REQUIRED PURSUANT
TO THIS PARAGRAPH.
§ 12. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section
17-212 of the election law, as amended by chapter 481 of the laws of
2023, is amended to read as follows:
(ii) a person knowingly uses any deceptive or fraudulent device,
contrivance or communication[,] that (A) PERTAINS TO: (1) THE TIME,
PLACE, OR MANNER OF ANY ELECTION; (2) THE QUALIFICATIONS OR RESTRICTIONS
ON VOTER ELIGIBILITY FOR SUCH ELECTION; (3) ANY VOTER'S ELIGIBILITY TO
VOTE IN ANY ELECTION; (4) THE CONSEQUENCES FOR VOTING OR FAILING TO VOTE
IN ANY ELECTION; OR (5) A STATEMENT OF ENDORSEMENT BY ANY SPECIFICALLY
NAMED PERSON, POLITICAL PARTY, OR ORGANIZATION; AND (B) impedes,
prevents or otherwise interferes with the free exercise of the elective
franchise by any person, or [that] causes or will reasonably have the
effect of causing any person to vote or refrain from voting in general
or for or against any particular person or for or against any proposi-
tion submitted to voters at such election; to place or refrain from
placing their name upon a registry of voters; or to request or refrain
from requesting an early mail or absentee ballot; or
§ 13. Section 17-214 of the election law, as added by chapter 226 of
the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
§ 17-214. ENFORCEMENT. 1. ENFORCEMENT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. IF THE
CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU CONCLUDES THAT A SUBMISSION BY A POLITICAL SUBDIVI-
SION OR ANY OTHER PARTY IS INSUFFICIENT TO COMPLETE ITS REVIEW, THE
CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU MAY REQUEST THAT THE PARTY PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFOR-
MATION, AND THE TIME PERIODS FOR REVIEW PROVIDED IN THIS TITLE SHALL
RECOMMENCE UPON RECEIPT OF SUCH INFORMATION. IF SUCH INFORMATION IS NOT
PROVIDED, SUCH TIME PERIODS FOR REVIEW SHALL NOT APPLY.
2. Authority to issue subpoenas. In any action or investigation to
enforce any provision of this title, the attorney general shall have the
authority to take proof and determine relevant facts and to issue
subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
3. PRECLEARANCE. COVERED ENTITIES SHALL PROVIDE INFORMATION RELEVANT
TO PRECLEARANCE TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU UPON REQUEST.
§ 14. Section 17-216 of the election law, as added by chapter 226 of
the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
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§ 17-216. Expedited judicial proceedings and preliminary relief.
Because of the frequency of elections, the severe consequences and irre-
parable harm of holding elections under unlawful conditions, and the
expenditure to defend potentially unlawful conditions that benefit
incumbent officials, actions brought pursuant to this title shall be
subject to expedited pretrial and trial proceedings and receive an auto-
matic calendar preference. In any action alleging a violation of this
[section] TITLE in which a plaintiff party seeks preliminary relief with
respect to an upcoming election, the court shall grant relief if it
determines that: (a) plaintiffs are more likely than not to succeed on
the merits; and (b) it is possible to implement an appropriate remedy
that would resolve the alleged violation in the upcoming election.
§ 15. The election law is amended by adding a new section 17-219 to
read as follows:
§ 17-219. RULES AND REGULATIONS. THE CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU MAY PROMUL-
GATE SUCH RULES AND REGULATIONS AS MAY BE NECESSARY TO EFFECTUATE THE
PURPOSES OF THIS TITLE.
§ 16. Section 5 of chapter 226 of the laws of 2022 amending the
election law relating to establishing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights
Act of New York, establishing rights of action for denying or abridging
of the right of any member of a protected class to vote, providing
assistance to language-minority groups, requiring certain political
subdivisions to receive preclearance for potential violations of the
NYVRA, and creating civil liability for voter intimidation, as amended
by chapter 169 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
§ 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023; provided that section
17-208 of the election law as added by section four of this act shall
take effect three years after it shall have become a law; and provided
further, however, that section 17-210 of the election law, as added by
section four of this act, shall take effect one year after the attorney
general certifies that the office of the attorney general is prepared to
execute the duties assigned in section four of this act, AND FURTHER
PROVIDED THAT if after the expiration of one year FOLLOWING SUCH CERTIF-
ICATION the attorney general requires more time to [certify that the
office of the attorney general is prepared to] execute the duties
assigned in section four of this act, the attorney general, may, for
good cause shown, apply to the governor for such an extension of time.
The governor may grant or deny an extension of up to one year according
to his or her discretion. The attorney general shall notify the legisla-
tive bill drafting commission upon the occurrence of the enactment of
the legislation provided for in section four of this act in order that
the commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective data base
of the official text of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance
of effectuating the provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and
section 70-b of the public officers law.
§ 17. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the amendments to section 17-210 of the election law made by sections
nine, ten and eleven of this act shall take effect on the same date and
in the same manner as such section takes effect pursuant to section 5 of
chapter 226 of the laws of 2022; provided, further, that section 17-219
of the election law as added by section fifteen of this act shall be
deemed to have been in full force and effect on the same date as chapter
226 of the laws of 2022 took effect; and provided, further, that the
amendments to section 5 of chapter 226 of the laws of 2022 made by
section sixteen of this act shall be deemed to have been in full force
and effect on the same date as such chapter was enacted.