Bill Text: NY S02215 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the Queens county board of elections to provide language assistance in Bengali, Punjabi and Hindi.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-16 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S02215 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S02215-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2215

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 16, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  COMRIE, KRUEGER, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO -- read twice
          and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
          on Elections

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to  directing  the  Queens
          county  board  of elections to provide language assistance in Bengali,
          Punjabi and Hindi

          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 3-507
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 3-507. Queens county board of elections; voting materials in  Benga-
     4  li,  Punjabi  and  Hindi.  The  Queens  county  board of elections shall
     5  provide written language assistance in the Bengali,  Punjabi  and  Hindi
     6  languages pursuant to section two hundred three of the voting rights act
     7  of  nineteen  hundred  sixty-five  (42  U.S.C. 1973aa-1a). Such language
     8  assistance shall include, but not be limited to, ballots,  signs,  voter
     9  mailings,  employee  and volunteer training materials and information on
    10  such board's website. It shall also produce and disseminate countywide a
    11  booklet that includes: (a) a voter registration  form  in  English  with
    12  instructions in Bengali, Punjabi and Hindi; (b) instructions in Bengali,
    13  Punjabi  and  Hindi  regarding  the criteria and application process for
    14  obtaining an absentee ballot; and  (c)  a  section  with  general  voter
    15  information  in  Bengali,  Punjabi  and Hindi including frequently asked
    16  questions. Such board may include other languages on its website and  in
    17  such booklet.
    18    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    19  it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
    20  ment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the  imple-
    21  mentation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on
    22  or before such date.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01259-01-5