Bill Text: NY A01902 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Requires the board of elections in cities with a population of one million or more to provide at least one interpreter for all languages that are designated city-wide languages at poll sites that contain an election district with at least fifty voting age residents whose limited English proficiency language is a designated city-wide language.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to election law [A01902 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01902-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1902

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Election Law

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to provision of interpret-
          ers at poll sites in certain cities

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

     1    Section  1.  The election law is amended by adding a new section 8-110
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 8-110. Board of elections, in consultation with the executive office
     4  of any city with a population of  one  million  or  more;  provision  of
     5  interpreters.  1.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
     6  any board of elections in a city with a population  of  one  million  or
     7  more  shall,  at  a minimum, provide interpreters for all languages that
     8  are designated city-wide languages pursuant to section  23-1101  of  the
     9  administrative  code of the city of New York or other applicable statute
    10  at all poll sites that contain an election district with at least  fifty
    11  voting  age  residents  whose  limited English proficiency language is a
    12  designated city-wide language. The voting districts with at least  fifty
    13  voting  age  residents with limited English proficiency shall be made by
    14  the board of elections based upon the most recent United  States  census
    15  data  or  American  community survey data, whichever is more recent, and
    16  beginning on January first, two thousand twenty-six, such data shall  be
    17  reviewed every two years. Unless an election district has at least fifty
    18  voting  age  residents  with  limited  English  proficiency  who speak a
    19  specific city-wide language, an interpreter for such city-wide  language
    20  shall not be required for any poll site in such election district.
    21    2.  All  interpreters  provided  by  a  board of elections pursuant to
    22  subdivision one of this section shall be made available  to  the  public
    23  inside  the  poll  site.  Any interpreter who engages in any activity in
    24  violation of subdivision one of section 8-104 of this article  shall  be
    25  immediately relieved of his or her duties as an interpreter.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03400-01-3
        A. 1902                             2

     1    3.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall  restrict or prohibit a board of
     2  elections  from  providing  interpreters  for  languages  that  are  not
     3  required pursuant to this section.
     4    4. The state board of elections shall promulgate rules and regulations
     5  that  include establishing standards for the number of interpreters that
     6  will be required at each poll site based upon the number of  voting  age
     7  residents  in an election district with limited English proficiency that
     8  speak a specific language.
     9    § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    10  ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,
    11  the  addition,  amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
    12  sary for the implementation of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are
    13  authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.