NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10712
SPONSOR: Rules (Walker) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the election law, in relation to pre-
clearance of voting-related regulations and policies
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to ensure that the right of citizens to vote
is not denied on account of race, color or language.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill adds a new § 8-600 to the election law to estab-
lish a pre clearance process wherein the implementation of any changes
relating qualifications for voting, pre-requisites to voting or any
regulations, policies, practices, or procedures with regard to voting in
a county in which at least 10% of the population consists of a protected
class, or in a county which has been the subject of an action related to
discriminatory practice in the preceding 10 years, or in a county that
was previously subject to the pre clearance process under section 5 of
the Voting Rights Act, must first be submitted to the Attorney General
for review and approval.
JUSTIFICATION:
In June 2013, the U.S Supreme Court, in Shelby County v. Holder held
that it is unconstitutional to use the coverage formula in Section 4(b)
of the Voting Rights Act to determine which jurisdictions are subject to
the preclearance requirement of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The
Supreme Court did not rule on the constitutionality of Section 5 itself.
The effect of the Shelby County decision is that the jurisdictions iden-
tified by the coverage formula in Section 4(b) no longer need to seek
preclearance for the new voting changes.
Section 5 of the Voting rights Act was enacted to stop changes in
election practices or procedures in covered jurisdictions until the new
procedures have been determined, either after administrative review by
the Attorney General, or after a lawsuit before the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia, to have neither a discrimi-
natory purpose nor effect. Section 5 was designed to ensure that voting
changes in covered jurisdictions could not be implemented until a deter-
mination had been obtained.
In order to protect and ensure the rights of all voters and prevent the
establishment or implementation of discriminatory practices, this bill
would establish a "pre-clearance" process in which NYS counties meeting
specific criteria would have to clear requested voting policy changes
with the NYS Attorney General prior to implementation.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
180 days after enactment.
