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Attorney General’s office reports early progress on NY Voting Rights Act preclearance reviews
Summary
Office of the New York Attorney General told the Senate elections committee the state’s NYVRA preclearance process has produced more than 30 submissions, all granted so far; the office published guidance, regulations and an online submission portal and identified roughly 34 jurisdictions it believes are covered by the law’s formula.
The Office of the New York Attorney General told the Senate Standing Committee on Elections on May 6 that it has implemented an initial process for the New York Voting Rights Act’s preclearance requirement and has so far processed more than 30 submissions from local election officials.
Lindsay McKenzie, section chief for voting rights at the Attorney General’s office, told the committee the NYVRA’s preclearance requirement took effect Sept. 24, 2024, and that her team issued guidance and regulations in advance to explain how covered jurisdictions should submit proposed changes to voting practices for review. “Our team's approach with respect to preclearance implementation has been to offer some guidance to boards of elections and other parties,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie said the office published a December 2023 guidance document that explained the preclearance process, provided the office’s initial view on which jurisdictions are covered under the statute’s multi-pronged coverage formula, and set out the data methodologies used. She told committee members the statute contains several prongs for coverage, including prongs tied to prior violations of voting laws and prongs tied to demographic data such as disproportionate arrest rates and segregation measures.
“Based on our analysis and application of that formula, we [identified] 34 jurisdictions, counties but other different jurisdiction types, cities, towns, etcetera, that we believe are subject to preclearance,” McKenzie said. She said the office held webinars for the jurisdictions it identified as likely covered, issued an initial set of regulations through the State Administrative Procedure Act notice-and-comment process, and published a regulatory handbook in August 2024 that addressed common topics such as polling place relocations.
McKenzie said the office has an open-door policy for boards of elections and has emphasized direct engagement with county-level boards, which she called “on the front lines of election administration.” She said the office has developed an online portal to accept preclearance submissions, to post related documents and determination letters, and to operate a listserv for jurisdictions and other interested stakeholders.
“So far we are really pleased to report that we've worked pretty constructively together with, primarily, the boards of elections,” McKenzie said, adding that the office has granted preclearance for all the submissions it has processed to date. She said some determinations were preliminary and subject to follow-up review, but by and large the initial submissions have been granted.
Committee members asked about whether any submissions remain outstanding and about a specific local situation in Port Chester involving cumulative voting. McKenzie said most submissions are resolved, and that the office would be willing to follow up separately on Port Chester’s circumstances.
The Attorney General’s office requested that local boards engage early with the office, provide factual context for proposed changes, and make use of the office’s portal and resources. McKenzie said the office intends to continue long-term implementation work and follow-up with jurisdictions as questions arise.
The committee received the presentation and proceeded to the remainder of its agenda, which included consideration of 11 bills.
