Bill Text: NY A06686 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides voting materials in French and Creole; requires translators in French and Creole in the city of New York at polling places in subdivisions where more than five percent of the citizens of voting age speak the language of French and/or Creole and are limited-English proficient.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-06 - referred to election law [A06686 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A06686-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         6686
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    March 30, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M. of A. PERRY, WEINSTEIN, SCARBOROUGH, WEPRIN -- Multi-
         Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO, BRENNAN, ROBINSON --  read  once  and
         referred to the Committee on Election Law
       AN  ACT to amend the election law, in relation to providing voting mate-
         rials and translators in French and Creole in the city of New York
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Haitian-
    2  American Informed Voter Act".
    3    S 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 3-508 to read
    4  as follows:
    5    S 3-508. BOARDS OF ELECTIONS; VOTING MATERIALS IN FRENCH AND CREOLE. A
    6  BOARD OF ELECTIONS IN A CITY OF OVER ONE MILLION SHALL PROVIDE THE  SAME
    7  INFORMATION  IN  FRENCH  AND  CREOLE THAT IT PROVIDES IN LANGUAGES OTHER
    8  THAN ENGLISH ON ITS WEBSITE. IT SHALL ALSO PRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE CITY-
    9  WIDE A BOOKLET THAT INCLUDES: (A) A VOTER REGISTRATION FORM  IN  ENGLISH
   10  WITH  INSTRUCTIONS  IN FRENCH AND CREOLE; (B) INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THE
   11  CRITERIA AND APPLICATION PROCESS FOR OBTAINING AN ABSENTEE  BALLOT;  AND
   12  (C)  A SECTION WITH GENERAL INFORMATION INCLUDING FREQUENTLY ASKED QUES-
   13  TIONS. SUCH BOARD MAY INCLUDE OTHER LANGUAGES ON ITS WEBSITE AND IN SUCH
   14  BOOKLET.
   15    S 3. Section 8-104 of the election law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
   16  subdivision 7 to read as follows:
   17    7.  IN  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK,  DURING DAYS OF PRIMARY, GENERAL AND
   18  SPECIAL ELECTIONS, AT EACH PREMISES WHEREIN A POLLING  PLACE  OR  PLACES
   19  ARE LOCATED IN A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE WHERE MORE THAN FIVE
   20  PERCENT  OF  THE  CITIZENS  OF  VOTING AGE OF SUCH POLITICAL SUBDIVISION
   21  SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF  FRENCH  AND/OR  CREOLE  AND  ARE  LIMITED-ENGLISH
   22  PROFICIENT,  AT  LEAST ONE FRENCH-ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND/OR CREOLE-ENGLISH
   23  TRANSLATOR DESIGNATED BY SUCH CITY SHALL BE ASSIGNED FOR DUTY  FROM  THE
   24  OPENING UNTIL THE CLOSING OF THE POLLS.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD03557-01-5
       A. 6686                             2
    1    S  4.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    2  have become a law; provided, that, effective immediately, the  addition,
    3  amendment  and/or  repeal  of  any  rule or regulation necessary for the
    4  implementation of this act on  its  effective  date  is  authorized  and
    5  directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.