What's happening
This bill requires New York City to provide voting materials and translators in French and Creole to improve voter access.
Why it matters
Addresses language barriers for Haitian-American and West African communities. by requiring official election materials and translators in both French and Creole, which are widely spoken among immigrant populations in New York City.
Expands equitable voter access. by ensuring that critical information—such as voter registration forms, absentee ballot instructions, and FAQs—is not just translated but actively disseminated in these languages, helping limited-English proficient residents participate fully in elections.
Creates a legal standard for when translators must be present at polling sites. specifically, if more than 5% of voting-age citizens in a political subdivision speak French or Creole and have limited English proficiency, at least one translator must be available for the entire voting day, reducing disenfranchisement.
May set a precedent for adding other languages in the future. , as the law explicitly allows boards of elections to include additional languages in their materials and communications, potentially broadening multilingual support over time.
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
French, Creole Ballot Access
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Referred to election law
- Referred to election law
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
82
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. PERRY, VANEL, WEPRIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to providing voting materials and translators in French and Creole in the city of New York
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Haitian- American Informed Voter Act".
§ 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 3-508 to read as follows:
§ 3-508. Boards of elections; voting materials in French and Creole. A board of elections in a city of over one million shall provide the same information in French and Creole that it provides in languages other than English on its website. It shall also produce and disseminate citywide a booklet that includes: (a) a voter registration form in English with instructions in French and Creole; (b) instructions regarding the criteria and application process for obtaining an absentee ballot; and (c) a section with general information including frequently asked questions. Such board may include other languages on its website and in such booklet.
§ 3. Section 8-104 of the election law is amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
7. In the city of New York, during days of primary, general and special elections, at each premises wherein a polling place or places are located in a political subdivision of the state where more than five percent of the citizens of voting age of such political subdivision speak the language of French and/or Creole and are limited-English proficient, at least one French-English language and/or Creole-English
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02623-01-9
A. 82 2
translator designated by such city shall be assigned for duty from the opening until the closing of the polls.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.