Bill Text: NY A03420 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Relates to pre-clearance of voting-related regulations and policies.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 20-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to ways and means [A03420 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A03420-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         3420--A

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 29, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. WALKER, LIFTON, COOK, ORTIZ, LENTOL, JACOBSON,
          CUSICK, BARRON, HYNDMAN, BLAKE, DE LA ROSA, BICHOTTE, D'URSO,  PICHAR-
          DO, PERRY, MOSLEY, RAMOS, GALEF, JEAN-PIERRE -- read once and referred
          to  the  Committee  on  Election  Law  -- reported and referred to the
          Committee on Ways and Means --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  election  law,  in relation to pre-clearance of
          voting-related regulations and policies

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Article  8 of the election law is amended by adding a new
     2  title 7 to read as follows:
     3                                  TITLE VII
     4                                PRE-CLEARANCE
     5  Section 8-700. Pre-clearance.
     6    § 8-700. Pre-clearance. 1. To ensure that the right  of  citizens  who
     7  reside in New York to vote is not denied or abridged on account of race,
     8  color,  or language minority status through the enforcement of a voting-
     9  related regulation, procedure or policy that is enacted or  administered
    10  after  the  effective date of this section, the following voting-related
    11  regulations, and policies shall  be  subject  to  pre-clearance  by  the
    12  attorney general pursuant to this title.
    13    2. Before the state board of elections or any local board of elections
    14  enacts  or implements any changes in voting qualification, prerequisites
    15  to voting, administration, regulations, policies,  practices  or  proce-
    16  dures  with  respect to voting affecting: (a) a county with a population
    17  comprised, in the aggregate, of at least ten percent  of  members  of  a
    18  protected  class  over  the preceding decade, as determined by the five-
    19  year estimates of the United States Census  American  Community  Survey,
    20  (b)  a  county  which  has  been  subject to a court order or government
    21  enforcement action based upon a finding of  a  discriminatory  practice,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05534-05-9

        A. 3420--A                          2

     1  denial  or  abridgment of the right to vote of a member of the protected
     2  class within the past ten years, or (c) a  county  that  was  previously
     3  subject  to  pre-clearance  under  Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of
     4  1965  and  has  not  been  granted a decree granting exemption from such
     5  pre-clearance requirements, must submit such changes to the state attor-
     6  ney general for approval. This section shall not apply  to  any  changes
     7  made pursuant to law.
     8    3. The submission seeking pre-clearance approval of such changes shall
     9  be  made,  in writing, to the civil rights bureau of the attorney gener-
    10  al's office, with a copy provided contemporaneously to the  state  board
    11  of elections if made by a county board of elections. The attorney gener-
    12  al  shall,  based  on  the  criteria  stated  in subdivision one of this
    13  section, indicate objections or approval of such submission, in writing,
    14  within sixty days following the receipt of such submission.
    15    4. For purposes of this section, "protected class" shall mean a  class
    16  of  voters  who are members of a race, color or language minority group,
    17  as this class is referenced and defined in the Voting Rights Act of 1965
    18  (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
    19    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    20  it shall have become a law.
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