BILL NUMBER:S7812

TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to voting materials in
Russian

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill seeks the same status for Russian that exists for five other
languages (aside from English) relating to all election-related
information, as required by federal Voting Rights Act, in cities with
over one million residents.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one states that a board of elections in a city of over one
million provide all information that is provided in English about the
electoral process, including registration or voting notices, forms,
instructions, assistance as well as information provided at the
polling place, including voting systems, ballot marking devices and
ballots in Russian to the extent needed to allow voters who speak
Russian to participate effectively in the electoral process and all
voting-connected activities. Further, such board of elections shall
also provide the same information in Russian that it provides in
languages other than English on its website.
              

Section one also states that such board of elections shall also
produce and disseminate citywide a booklet that includes: (a) a voter
registration form in English with instructions in Russian; (b)
instructions in Russian regarding the criteria and application process
for obtaining an absentee ballot; and (c) a section with general voter
information in Russian including frequently asked questions. Such
board may include other languages on its website and in such booklet.

Section two is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

There are over 1.6 Russian speaking Americans in the New York
Tri-State area alone. Residents of the New York Metropolitan Area who
were born in Russia and other former Soviet Union countries is almost
500,000. Some Assembly and Senate districts have significant Russian
speaking populations, up to 20% of some districts' total population.
In many cases, these Russian Americans are being unfairly shut out of
the voting process because of language barriers.

Voting and registration materials are printed in many languages other
than English, but Russian has long been ignored. These
Russian-Americans aren't voting because they aren't registered and
they aren't registered because some of them can't read the information
and registration materials. This bill will go a long way towards equal
representation for all New Yorkers.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
Similar to Chapter 244 of 2009


FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Costs to local boards of elections in cities with one million or more
residents.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take on the one hundred and twentieth day after it
shall have become law.