What's happening
Writing a plain-English summary… Track this bill to get it by email.
Why it matters
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Approval memo.7
- Signed chap.244
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.507
- Substituted for A1559
- Referred to election law
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 48–13
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
Show 3 earlier actions
- 1st report cal.158
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to elections
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Directs board of elections in N.Y. city to furnish voting materials in Russian language as well as in English
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor William Colton
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the election law, in relation to providing Russian language voting materials
Purpose or general idea of bill
To provide voting materials printed in Russian language as well as English.
Summary of specific provisions
The election law is amended by adding a new section 3-506, which states that a board of elections in a city of over one million shall provide the same information in Russian that it provides in languages other than English on its website.
Justification
According to a March 2004 MSNBC article, there are 320,000 residents in the New York Metropolitan Area who were born in Russia and other Soviet Union countries. The same article also says that there are between 1 and 1.5 million Russian-speaking people living there. There are some Assembly districts that have significant Russian speaking populations, up to even 20% of some districts' total population. These people are being shut out of the voting process unfairly because of their language. Voting and registration materials are printed in many languages other than English, but Russian has long been ignored. These people aren't voting because they aren't registered and they aren't registered because they can't read the materials in English to do so. If New York State wants to equally represent all of its citizens, it must pass this act to enfranchise another of its culturally diverse immigrant populations, like many that have come before it.
Prior legislative history
2008 - A.3225-A/Passed;S.4731-A/Elections 2007 - A.3225/Passed;S.4731/Elections 2006 - A.9531/Election Law
Fiscal implications
Not known.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.