NEW YORK – New York would make it easier to sue over discriminatory election policies and require localities with a history of civil rights violations to get approval before changing election rules, under legislation passed Thursday by the U.S.-controlled Assembly and Senate. Democrats.
A spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said she will review the legislation. This year, Hochul has called for this type of Voting Rights Act at the state level to protect voters of different races and languages.
The bill follows a failed attempt in the US Senate to pass election legislation that would have allowed the Justice Department to intervene in states with a history of voter inference.
WHAT THE BILL PROVIDES
Under the bill, certain areas, school boards or local boards of elections will no longer be able to make changes, such as removing people from voter rolls, reducing voting hours or reducing the number of polling places, without approval from the office. from the state attorney general or courts
Communities where minority New Yorkers have disproportionately high arrest rates may also need permission to change election rules.
BENEFITS OF THE LAW
The legislation would make voter intimidation and suppression lawsuits easier by establishing an expedited process for New Yorkers or the attorney general to file lawsuits for election violations, including new bans on voter intimidation, deception and obstruction.
Courts could find solutions to voter suppression that range from changing election dates to adding more hours or days of voting.
Democrats and civil rights leaders have said that Republican-led states are passing laws making it harder for black Americans and others to vote by consolidating polling places, requiring certain types of identification and mandating other changes.
ABOUT ELECTORAL LAWS
Parts of New York City once had to seek federal approval for election and election law changes under a key part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that the US Supreme Court struck down in 2013.
About a century ago, the state of New York passed laws requiring English literacy tests to vote and moved Election Day to Saturday, during the Jewish Sabbath.
The bill’s sponsors, Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, both Democrats from New York City, said the state’s voting record has improved but still needs to improve.
Supporters cited US Census data showing that voter registration and turnout rates are lower for black and Hispanic New Yorkers than for non-Hispanic white residents.
In recent decades, New York has also faced criticism for its language assistance programs for minority voters and accusations of gerrymandering political districts to reduce the power of minority communities.
“With the federal Voting Rights Act weakened by the courts and without congressional action to strengthen it, we have seen a wave of laws passed across the country intended to stifle the voting power of minority voters,” Walker said. “This legislation sends the message that here in New York, your right to vote is protected.”
SIMILAR LAWS IN OTHER STATES
The New York legislation is similar to a 2021 law in Virginia that empowers voters and the attorney general to sue over voter suppression and requires local election officials to obtain public comment or prior approval from the attorney general for changes in voting. voting policy.
This year, Oregon lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would have required some local communities to get permission to make election law changes.
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