There are new protections in place for voters in New York. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act into law on Monday. Speaking at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, Hochul highlighted the civil rights work of both civil rights leaders Lewis and Evers.
"As Medgar Evers knew, there’s so many fights to be had and one of them is protecting the right to vote because democracy only works if everyone who is eligible can participate in it.”
The bill targets voter discrimination, enhances legal protections for voters and centralizes election data in New York. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins says she hopes New York’s legislation inspires the passage of other voting rights bills around the nation.
“Let us continue to be a model, to be an example, to be relentless, fearless and tireless, because in New York we lead.”
A bill by the same name—the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, was passed by the the US House last fall, but failed to get enough votes in the Senate. In recent years, many Republican-led states like Texas and Georgia have passed laws that restrict voter access.
Here are some of the specific provisions:
- Voter Dilution. Prohibits methods of election that eliminate the voting strength of a protected class and establishes legal protections for violations.
- Voter Suppression. Prohibits election-related laws and practices from being implemented in ways that deny members of a protected class the right to vote and establishes legal protections for violations.
- Voter Intimidation, Deception or Obstruction. Prohibits acts of intimidation, deception, or obstruction that impact the ability of New Yorkers to access their right to vote and establishes legal protections for violations.
- Expanded Language Assistance. Requires election-related language assistance beyond what is required by the federal Voting Rights Act.
- Preclearance. Establishes a state analogue to the now dormant "section 5 preclearance" of the federal Voting Rights Act, requiring covered jurisdictions to "preclear" any changes to certain important election-related laws and policies before they can implement them. Under the new law, covered jurisdictions seeking to make a change to a range of election measures will first need to have those changes reviewed to ensure they will not violate the voting rights of a protected class. Covered jurisdictions are those with a history of civil or voting rights violations.