S441A

The Senate laid aside S441A, an election law amendment sponsored by Sen. Myrie, without debate or a vote. Sen. Lanza moved to set the bill aside, and Acting President Bailey granted the motion.

The New York State Senate passed legislation Tuesday expanding language assistance requirements for voters, adding Haitian Creole and Middle Eastern and North African language minorities to protections under the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. The bill, S441A, passed 43-15 on a party-line vote, with all 15 nays coming from Republican senators. Sponsor Sen. Myrie said the measure recognizes growing populations in New York and aligns with federal definitions established in Statistical Policy Directive 15. The bill requires boards of elections to provide voting materials in these languages when speakers meet existing thresholds—2 percent of a political subdivision's population or 4,000 individuals. Sen. Walczyk, the leading opponent, questioned which specific languages would be covered under the broad MEAN category, noting that Middle Eastern and North African countries speak dozens of languages including Arabic, Farsi, Armenian, and Hebrew. He also raised concerns about unfunded mandates on local boards of elections, noting no fiscal analysis has been conducted. Myrie said implementation details would be determined by local boards based on American Community Survey data and existing language access patterns. The state already provides language access for Arabic and Haitian Creole through 50 state agencies. The bill takes effect one year after becoming law.

The Senate passed an election law amendment sponsored by Sen. Myrie on a 47-12 vote. The bill, Calendar Number 1795 (Senate Print 441A), would modify provisions of the Election Law and takes effect one year after becoming law. Twelve senators voted in opposition: Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Chan, Gallivan, Griffo, Martins, O'Mara, Ortt, Rhoads, Stec, Walczyk and Weik. No floor debate was recorded on the measure prior to the roll call vote.