Strengthen Voting Rights Protections

Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York (NYVRA)".

§ 2. Sections 17-100 through 17-170 of article 17 of the election law are designated title 1 and a new title heading is added to read as follows:

VIOLATIONS OF THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE

§ 3. The article heading of article 17 of the election law is amended to read as follows:

[VIOLATIONS OF] PROTECTING THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE

§ 4. Article 17 of the election law is amended by adding a new title 2 to read as follows:

TITLE 2

JOHN R. LEWIS VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF NEW YORK Section 17-200. Legislative purpose and statement of public policy.

17-202. Interpretation of laws related to elective franchise.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD14845-05-0

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17-204. Definitions.

17-206. Rights of action.

17-208. Maintenance of voting and election data.

17-210. Assistance for language-minority groups.

17-212. Preclearance.

17-214. Civil liability for voter intimidation.

17-216. Attorneys' fees.

17-218. Applicability.

17-220. Severability.

§ 17-200. Legislative purpose and statement of public policy. In recognition of the protections for the right to vote provided by the constitution of the state of New York, which substantially exceed the protections for the right to vote provided by the constitution of the United States, and in conjunction with the constitutional guarantees of equal protection, freedom of expression, and freedom of association under the law and against the denial or abridgement of the voting rights of members of a race, ethnicity, or language-minority group, it is the public policy of the state of New York to:

1. Encourage participation in the elective franchise by all eligible voters to the maximum extent; and

2. Ensure that eligible voters who are members of racial, ethnic, and language-minority groups shall have an equal opportunity to participate in the political processes of the state of New York, and especially to exercise the elective franchise.

§ 17-202. Interpretation of laws related to elective franchise. In further recognition of the protections for the right to vote provided by the constitution of the state of New York, statutes related to the elective franchise shall be construed liberally in favor of protecting the right to cast an effective ballot.

§ 17-204. Definitions. For the purposes of this title:

1. "At-large" method of election means a method of electing members to the governing body of a political subdivision: (a) in which all of the voters of the entire political subdivision elect each of the members to the governing body; (b) in which the candidates are required to reside within given areas of the political subdivision and all of the voters of the entire political subdivision elect each of the members to the governing body; or (c) that combines at-large elections with districtbased elections, unless the only member of the governing body of a political subdivision elected at-large holds exclusively executive responsibilities. At-large method of election does not include ranked-choice voting, cumulative voting, and limited voting.

2. "District-based" method of election means a method of electing members to the governing body of a political subdivision using an apportionment plan in which each member of the governing body resides within a district or ward that is a divisible part of the political subdivision and is elected only by voters residing within that district or ward, except for a member of the governing body that holds exclusively executive responsibilities.

3. "Alternative" method of election means a method of electing members to the governing body of a political subdivision using a method other than at-large or district-based, including, but not limited to, rankedchoice voting, cumulative voting, and limited voting.

4. "Political subdivision" means a geographic area of representation created for the provision of government services, including, but not limited to, a county, city, town, village, school district, or any other district organized pursuant to state or local law.

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5. "Protected class" means a class of eligible voters who are members of a race, ethnicity, or language-minority group, as referenced and defined in the federal voting rights act.

6. "Racially polarized voting" means voting in which there is a difference in the candidate or electoral choice preferred by members in a protected class, and the candidate or electoral choice preferred by the rest of the electorate. The methodologies for estimating group voting behavior as approved in applicable federal cases to enforce the federal voting rights act to establish racially polarized voting may be used for purposes of this subdivision to prove that elections are characterized by racially polarized voting, but those methodologies shall not be the exclusive means of proving racially polarized voting.

7. "Federal voting rights act" means the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, 52 U.S.C. § 10301 et seq.

8. The "civil rights bureau" means the civil rights bureau of the office of the attorney general.

§ 17-206. Rights of action. 1. Right of action against voter suppression. (a) No voting qualification, prerequisite to voting, law, ordinance, standard, practice, procedure, regulation, or policy shall be enacted or implemented by any board of elections or political subdivision in a manner that results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any member of a protected class to vote.

(b) A violation is established if, based on the totality of the circumstances, members of a protected class have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process or elect candidates or electoral choices preferred by members of the protected class.

(c) Circumstances that may be considered include, but are not limited to, the extent to which members of a protected class have been elected to office in the state or political subdivision and the extent to which members of a protected class in the state or political subdivision vote at lower rates than other members of the electorate.

(d) For political subdivisions where either the primary or general election is held on a date that is not concurrent with the primary or general election dates for state, county, or city office as established in section eight of article three or section eight of article thirteen of the constitution, and in state law, there shall be a presumption that the date of election results in the denial or abridgement of the right to vote where for three consecutive general elections in which there is at least one contested race for an office, the number of actual voters in each contested election is less than twenty-five percent of the total number of votes cast in the most recent general election for the presidency of the United States by voters in the political subdivision, or in which, for any protected class consisting of at least twenty-five thousand citizens of voting age or whose members comprise at least ten percent of the citizen voting age population, the percent of members of that protected class that are actual voters is at least twenty-five percent lower than the percent of citizens of voting age that are not members of that protected class that are actual voters.

2. Right of action against vote dilution. (a) A method of election, including at-large, district-based, or alternative, shall not have the effect of impairing the ability of members of a protected class to elect candidates of their choice or influence the outcome of elections, as a result of the dilution or the abridgment of the rights of members of the protected class.

(b) A violation of this subdivision shall be:

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(i) established if a political subdivision uses an at-large method of election and it is shown that either: (A) voting patterns of members of the protected class within the political subdivision are racially polarized; or (B) under the totality of the circumstances, the ability of members of the protected class to elect candidates of their choice or influence the outcome of elections is impaired.

(ii) established if a political subdivision uses a district-based or alternative method of election and it is shown that candidates or electoral choices preferred by members of the protected class would usually be defeated, and either: (A) voting patterns of members of the protected class within the political subdivision are racially polarized; or (B) under the totality of the circumstances, the ability of members of the protected class to elect candidates of their choice or influence the outcome of elections is impaired.

(iii) presumptively established if it is shown that the political subdivision used race, ethnicity, or language-minority group, or another characteristic that serves as a proxy for race, ethnicity, or languageminority group, for the purpose of apportionment. A political subdivision shall only rebut this presumption by showing that race, ethnicity, or language-minority group, or another characteristic that serves as a proxy for race, ethnicity, or language-minority group, was used to the extent necessary to comply with this title, the federal voting rights act, the constitution, or the constitution of the United States.

(c) In assessing whether voting patterns of members of the protected class within the political subdivision are racially polarized or whether candidates or electoral choices preferred by members of the protected class would usually be defeated: (i) elections conducted prior to the filing of an action pursuant to this subdivision are more probative than elections conducted after the filing of the action; (ii) evidence concerning elections for members of the governing body of the political subdivision are more probative than evidence concerning other elections; (iii) statistical evidence is more probative than non-statistical evidence; (iv) where there is evidence that more than one protected class of eligible voters are politically cohesive in the political subdivision, members of each of those protected classes may be combined; (v) evidence concerning the intent on the part of the voters, elected officials, or the political subdivision to discriminate against a protected class is not required; (vi) evidence that voting patterns and election outcomes could be explained by factors other than racially polarized voting, including but not limited to partisanship, shall not be considered; (vii) evidence that sub-groups within a protected class have different voting patterns shall not be considered; (viii) evidence concerning whether members of a protected class are geographically compact or concentrated shall not be considered, but may be a factor in determining an appropriate remedy; and (ix) evidence concerning projected changes in population or demographics shall not be considered, but may be a factor, in determining an appropriate remedy.

(d) In assessing whether, under the totality of the circumstances, the ability of members of the protected class to elect candidates of their choice or influence the outcome of elections is impaired, factors that may be considered shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the history of discrimination in the political subdivision, geographic region, or the state; (ii) the extent to which members of the protected class have been elected to office in the political subdivision; (iii) the use of any voting qualification, prerequisite to voting, law, ordinance, standard, practice, procedure, regulation, or policy that may enhance the

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dilutive effects of the election scheme; (iv) denial of access of either eligible voters or candidates who are members of the protected class to those processes determining which groups of candidates will receive access to the ballot, financial support, or other support in a given election; (v) the extent to which members of the protected class contribute to political campaigns at lower rates; (vi) the extent to which members of a protected class in the state or political subdivision vote at lower rates than other members of the electorate; (vii) the extent to which members of the protected class are disadvantaged in areas including but not limited to education, employment, health, criminal justice, housing, land use, or environmental protection; (viii) the extent to which members of the protected class are disadvantaged in other areas which may hinder their ability to participate effectively in the political process; (ix) the use of overt or subtle racial appeals in political campaigns; (x) a significant lack of responsiveness on the part of elected officials to the particularized needs of members of the protected class; and (xi) whether the political subdivision has a compelling policy justification for adopting or maintaining the method of election. No factor is dispositive or necessary to establish the existence of racially polarized voting. Evidence of these factors concerning the state, private actors, or other political subdivisions in the geographic region may be considered but is less probative than evidence concerning the political subdivision itself.