A 354: Directs the Queens county board of elections to provide language assistance in Bengali, Punjabi and Hindi.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 354 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN, KIM, ROZIC, COLTON, MILLER, RIVERA, RAGA, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, RAJKUMAR, HYNDMAN, BRAUNSTEIN, HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to directing the Queens county board of elections to provide language assistance in Bengali, Punjabi and Hindi The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The election law is amended by adding a new section 3-507 2 to read as follows: 3 § 3-507. Queens county board of elections; voting materials in Benga- 4 li, Punjabi and Hindi. The Queens county board of elections shall 5 provide written language assistance in the Bengali, Punjabi and Hindi 6 languages pursuant to section two hundred three of the voting rights act 7 of nineteen hundred sixty-five (42 U.S.C. 1973aa-1a). Such language 8 assistance shall include, but not be limited to, ballots, signs, voter 9 mailings, employee and volunteer training materials and information on 10 such board's website. It shall also produce and disseminate countywide a 11 booklet that includes: (a) a voter registration form in English with 12 instructions in Bengali, Punjabi and Hindi; (b) instructions in Bengali, 13 Punjabi and Hindi regarding the criteria and application process for 14 obtaining an absentee ballot; and (c) a section with general voter 15 information in Bengali, Punjabi and Hindi including frequently asked 16 questions. Such board may include other languages on its website and in 17 such booklet. 18 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 19 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 20 ment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the imple- 21 mentation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on 22 or before such date. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01259-01-5