S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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10708
I N A S S E M B L Y
September 9, 2022
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Zinerman) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the form in which a
proposed amendment to the constitution or other question provided by
law to be submitted to a statewide vote shall be submitted to the
people for their approval
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 1-104 of the election law is amended by adding a
new subdivision 40 to read as follows:
40. (A) THE TERM "PLAIN LANGUAGE" WHEN APPLIED TO ANY STATEMENT OF THE
FORM IN WHICH A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OR OTHER QUESTION
PROVIDED BY LAW TO BE SUBMITTED TO A STATEWIDE VOTE APPEARS ON THE
BALLOT SHALL MEAN A STATEMENT WHICH, IN ADDITION TO SATISFYING THE
REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN PARAGRAPH D OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION
4-108 OF THIS CHAPTER: (I) SCORES NO HIGHER THAN EIGHTH GRADE OR "GOOD",
AS INDICATED BY A SCORE OF A NINE ON THE AUTOMATED READING INDEX AS
CALCULATED PURSUANT TO THE FORMULA SET FORTH IN PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS
SUBDIVISION, (II) CONTAINS NO MORE THAN ONE PASSIVE SENTENCE, (III)
AVOIDS THE USE OF SEMICOLONS, USING MULTIPLE SENTENCES AS NECESSARY, AND
(IV) DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY DOUBLE NEGATIVES.
(B) THE AUTOMATED READING INDEX SHALL BE CALCULATED ACCORDING TO THE
FOLLOWING FORMULA:
(I) DIVIDE THE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS BY THE NUMBER OF WORDS AND MULTI-
PLY THAT NUMBER BY 4.71.
(II) DIVIDE THE NUMBER OF WORDS BY THE NUMBER OF SENTENCES AND MULTI-
PLY THAT NUMBER BY 0.5.
(III) ADD THE RESULTS FROM SUBPARAGRAPHS (I) AND (II) OF THIS PARA-
GRAPH.
(IV) SUBTRACT 21.43 FROM THE RESULT OF SUBPARAGRAPH (III) OF THIS
PARAGRAPH AND ROUND TO THE NEAREST WHOLE NUMBER.
§ 2. Paragraphs a and d of subdivision 1 and subdivisions 2 and 3 of
section 4-108 of the election law, paragraph d of subdivision 1 and
subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 136 of the laws of 1978 and subdivi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15428-02-2
A. 10708 2
sion 3 as added by chapter 234 of the laws of 1976, are amended to read
as follows:
a. Whenever any proposed amendment to the constitution or other ques-
tion provided by law to be submitted to a statewide vote shall be
submitted to the people for their approval, the state board of elections
at least three months prior to the general election at which such amend-
ment, proposition or question is to be submitted, shall transmit to each
county board of elections a certified copy of the text of each amend-
ment, proposition or question and a statement of the form in which it is
to be submitted AS APPROVED AFTER PUBLIC COMMENT HAS BEEN RECEIVED AND
REVIEWED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH D OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
d. In addition to the text, such transmittal shall contain an abstract
of such proposed amendment, proposition or question, prepared by the
state board of elections [concisely stating the purpose and effect ther-
eof in a clear and coherent manner using words with common and everyday
meanings] IN PLAIN LANGUAGE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION FORTY OF SECTION
1-104 OF THIS CHAPTER AND SATISFYING THE REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN
SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION. AT LEAST FOUR MONTHS PRIOR TO THE
GENERAL ELECTION AT WHICH SUCH AMENDMENT, PROPOSITION OR QUESTION IS TO
BE SUBMITTED, THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL PUBLICLY RELEASE AND
SUBMIT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT THE PROPOSED FORM IN WHICH THE AMENDMENT,
PROPOSITION OR QUESTION IS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE PEOPLE. THE PUBLIC
SHALL HAVE NO LESS THAN FIFTEEN DAYS TO SUBMIT COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSED
FORM IN WHICH THE AMENDMENT, PROPOSITION OR QUESTION IS TO BE SUBMITTED
TO THE VOTERS. THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL REVIEW AND CONSIDER
ALL COMMENTS BEFORE FINALIZING THE STATEMENT OF THE FORM IN WHICH THE
PROPOSED AMENDMENT, PROPOSITION OR QUESTION IS TO BE SUBMITTED FOR
APPROVAL BY THE PEOPLE.
2. The form in which the proposed amendment, proposition or question
is to be submitted shall consist [of] only [an abbreviated title indi-
cating generally and briefly, and in a clear and coherent manner using
words with common and every-day meanings, the subject matter of the
amendment, proposition or question] OF THE FOLLOWING: (A) A DESCRIPTIVE
TITLE OF UP TO FIFTEEN WORDS IN BOLD TYPE, WHICH DESCRIBES THE TOPIC,
GOAL, OR OUTCOME OF THE BALLOT QUESTION IN PLAIN LANGUAGE; (B) THE TEXT
OF THE QUESTION OF UP TO THIRTY WORDS, WRITTEN IN CLEAR, CONCISE, PLAIN
LANGUAGE REASONABLY CALCULATED TO BE UNDERSTOOD BY SOMEONE WITH NO MORE
THAN AN EIGHTH GRADE LEVEL OF READING COMPREHENSION AS DETERMINED BY THE
AUTOMATIC READABILITY INDEX AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION FORTY OF SECTION
1-104 OF THIS CHAPTER; (C) A PLAIN LANGUAGE STATEMENT OF WHAT A YES OR
NO VOTE MEANS IN UP TO THIRTY WORDS IN TOTAL, THAT IDENTIFIES THE PRAC-
TICAL RESULTS OF EACH ELECTION RESULT AND NOT THE LEGAL MECHANISM FOR
IMPLEMENTATION; AND (D) A FISCAL STATEMENT OF NO MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE
WORDS, WHEN REQUIRED. THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT, PROPOSITION OR QUESTION
MAY CONSIST OF MULTIPLE SENTENCES. If more than one such amendment,
proposition or question is to be voted upon at such election, each such
amendment, proposition or question respectively shall be separately and
consecutively numbered.
3. The attorney general shall advise in the preparation of [such
abstract and] such form of submission, TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH ADVICE
DOES NOT RESULT IN A FORM THAT FAILS TO SATISFY THE REQUIREMENTS OF
SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION.
§ 3. Subdivision 2 of section 4-116 of the election law, as amended by
chapter 60 of the laws of 1993, is amended to read as follows:
2. The state board of elections shall publish once in the week preced-
ing any election at which proposed constitutional amendments or other
A. 10708 3
propositions or questions are to be submitted to the voters of the state
an abstract of such amendment or question, a brief statement of the law
or proceedings authorizing such submission, a statement that such
submission will be made and the form SATISFYING THE REQUIREMENTS OF
PARAGRAPH D OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 4-108 OF THIS ARTICLE in which
it is to be submitted. NO LATER THAN TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO THE GENERAL
ELECTION AT WHICH SUCH AMENDMENT, PROPOSITION OR QUESTION IS TO BE
SUBMITTED, SUCH INFORMATION SHALL BE PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED ON THE STATE
BOARD OF ELECTIONS' WEBSITE AND ON THE WEBSITE OF EVERY COUNTY BOARD OF
ELECTIONS WHICH MAINTAINS A WEBSITE.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.