A 1715 — Establishes "John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey." **

A1715P.L. 3R ACS [Third Reprint]   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR ASSEMBLY, No.

17152026, STATEc.031 OF(A1715 NEW3R JERSEYACS) 222ndTitle LEGISLATURE19  Subtitle ADOPTED1 FEBRUARYChapter 19,4A 2026(New)  John  R. Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Lewis VERLINAVoter REYNOLDS-JACKSONEmpowerment DistrictAct 15§§1-22 (HunterdonC.19:4A-1 andto Mercer)19:4A-22 Senator §23 SHIRLEYNote K.  P.L.

TURNER2026, DistrictCHAPTER 1531, (Hunterdonapproved andJuly Mercer)2, Senator 2026 JOSEPHAssembly P.Committee Substitute (Third Reprint) for Assembly, No.

CRYAN1715 District  20  (Union)An Senator Act NICHOLASestablishing P.the “John R.

SCUTARI District 22 (Somerset and Union)   Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Sampson, Assemblywoman Speight, Assemblyman Spearman, Assemblywomen Tucker, Carter, Assemblymen Verrelli, Venezia, Assemblywomen McCoy, Drulis, Assemblyman Danielsen, Assemblywomen Haider, Quijano, Assemblyman Schnall, Assemblywomen Park, Bagolie, Assemblyman Tully, Assemblywoman Swain, Assemblymen Schaer, Egan, Calabrese, Assemblywomen Collazos-Gill, Morales, Assemblymen Stanley, Karabinchak, Miller, Freiman, Assemblywoman Kane, Assemblyman Singh, Assemblywoman Lopez, Assemblymen Abdelaziz, Greenwald, DeAngelo, Stewart, Moen, Assemblywomen Sweeney, Brennan, Assemblyman Onyema, Assemblywoman Rowan, Assemblymen Walker, Bhalla, Wainstein, G.Rodriguez, Senators McKnight, Zwicker, Burgess, Mukherji, Greenstein, McKeon, Singleton, Diegnan, Wimberly, Timberlake, Johnson, Stack, Gopal, B.Smith, Moriarty, Ruiz and Cruz-Perez         SYNOPSIS      Establishes “John R.

Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey.”   CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT      As reported by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on June 28, 2026, with amendments.

  An Act establishing the “John R.

       2[4.

     c.   c.     (1)  The Governor shall appoint a director of the Division of Voting Rights with the advice and consent of the Senate.  The director shall be an attorney-at-law licensed to practice in this State, with demonstrated education, training, or prior experience in elections administration or voting rights, and shall serve as the head of the Division of Voting Rights.  Notwithstanding the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act of 1970, P.L.1970, c.74 (C.52:17B-97 et seq.), P.L.1944, c.20 (C.52:17A-1 et seq.), or any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the director shall be the chief enforcement officer and authority on all civil and criminal violations arising under the provisions of this act or Title 19 of the Revised Statutes, except for any violations arising under the New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act, P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-1 et seq.).

     (2) (2)   The director shall hold the office for a term of six years and until reappointed or the appointment of a qualified successor.  No person shall be appointed to more than two consecutive terms as director, including an appointment to fill an unexpired term, but may be appointed to more than two nonconsecutive terms.

     (3) (3)   Any vacancy in the office, howsoever caused, shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, within 90 days of the occurrence of the vacancy.  A vacancy due to cause other than the expiration of the term shall be filled for the unexpired term only.

     e.   e.     At least once annually, the director, or a designee, shall present to the Legislature on the division’s performance, including any new policies, rules, or changes in procedures or processes established by the division, and provide a summary of actions taken to enforce the provisions of this act during the preceding calendar year.  The director, or a designee, shall answer any questions and provide any information requested by the Legislature.]2        24.   a.  The Attorney General of New Jersey shall be responsible for enforcing the provisions of this act, P.L.    , c.    (C.      ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and shall 3designate the Division on Civil Rights to3 have general jurisdiction and authority for such purposes.  The Attorney General may undertake any action that may be necessary to carry out the responsibilities assigned by this act, including, but not limited to:

     c.   c.     At least once annually, at the request of each House, the Attorney General, or a designee, shall present to one or more appropriate committees in each House of the Legislature concerning the implementation and enforcement of this act, including any new policies, rules, or changes in procedures or processes, and provide a summary of actions taken to enforce the provisions of this act during the preceding calendar year.  The respective committees shall report the findings from such presentation to the whole House.

     c.   c.     2[Except for the circumstances enumerated under subsection c.

     c.   c.     To determine whether elections in the political subdivision exhibit racially polarized voting:

       7.  a.  In determining whether, under the totality of the circumstances, a violation of sections 5 and 6 of this act, P.L.    , c.     (C.        and C.        , respectively) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), has occurred, factors that may be considered shall include, but not be limited to:

     (2) (2)   The study shall assess the need for additional language access coverage in any political subdivisions not already covered by this section, if the political subdivision meets either of the following thresholds:

or      (b) (b)   more than 4,000 of the]3 2[voting-eligible population] 3[citizens of voting age2 of]3 2[such] 3[the2 political subdivision speak a particular shared language other than English and are limited English proficient individuals.

     (3) (3)   All determinations made under paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be based on data from the U.S.

     (4) (4)   The]3 2[Division of Voting Rights] 3[Attorney General2 shall then engage with any language minority group identified based on the foregoing thresholds and determine if adding such additional language access can be feasibly implemented in a practical and cost effective manner by the identified political subdivision.  Such an engagement process with language minority groups shall include, at a minimum:

     (5) (5)   Determinations of the feasibility and cost practicability of providing language assistance to a language minority group covered under paragraph (2) of this subsection shall consider:

     (6) (6)   The provision of language access shall not be found to be impractical solely as a result of any increase in cost to the identified political subdivision.  Such a finding shall be based on compelling evidence that the cost of providing language access services would substantially burden the ability of the identified political subdivision to administer elections, and considerations of cost increases must be weighed equally with other findings from engagement with the language minority group as detailed in paragraph (4) of this subsection.

     (7) (7)   The]3 2[Division of Voting Rights] 3[Attorney General2 shall provide political subdivisions identified pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection with a detailed guidance roadmap, including costs, suggested timeline, and implementation steps, and publish such guidance roadmap on its official website.  Political subdivisions shall follow the roadmap, including the suggested timeline, to implement language access coverage for any language deemed practical and feasible under this section.

     (8) (8)   The]3 2[Division of Voting Rights] 3[Attorney General2 shall provide notice and the roadmap of feasibility and costs directly to each political subdivision covered by paragraph (2) of this subsection and specify the language or languages for which the political subdivision is to provide additional language access coverage.

of section 12 of this act, P.L.    , c.     (C.       ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill);

     (1)  any political subdivision that, within the prior 15 years 2[or , for good cause shown, within a longer period determined by the Division of Voting Rights, but not to exceed 30 years]2, has been subject to any court order, government enforcement action, final determination of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, court-approved consent decree, or any other settlement in which the political subdivision conceded liability, based upon a 2claim alleging discrimination against members of a protected class, in2 violation of the provisions of this act, the right to vote under the New Jersey Constitution, the federal Voting Rights Act, the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a voting-related violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, or any violation of any other state or federal election law 2[based upon discrimination against members of a protected class]2 3, except that no political subdivision shall be considered a covered entity within the meaning of this paragraph on the basis of any court order, government enforcement action, final determination of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, court-approved consent decree, or other settlement occurring prior to the effective date of this section3;

2or2      (2)  any political subdivision that, within the prior 15 years 2[or, for good cause shown, within a longer period determined by the Division of Voting Rights, but not to exceed 30 years]2, has been subject to any court order, 3[government enforcement action,]3 final determination of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, court-approved consent decree, or any other settlement in which the political subdivision conceded liability, based upon a 2claim alleging 3a pattern, practice, or policy of3 discrimination against members of a protected class, in2 violation of any state or federal civil rights law, Article I, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, or the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution 2[concerning discrimination against members of a protected class]2 3, except that no political subdivision shall be considered a covered entity within the meaning of this paragraph on the basis of any court order, final determination of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, court-approved consent decree, or other settlement occurring prior to the effective date of this section3;

     e.   e.     Following each federal decennial census, if a covered entity maintains an at-large method of election, 3[or a covered entity that employs districting plans makes no revisions to its districting plans,]3 the at-large method of election 3[or districting plans]3 shall be deemed a “covered policy” and shall be submitted to the 2[Division of Voting Rights] Attorney General2 pursuant to section 14 of this act, P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).  The 2[Division of Voting Rights] Attorney General2 shall promulgate, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the necessary rules and regulations to effectuate the provisions of this subsection.

       15.

     1c.   2[If any punitive damages are] No compensatory or punitive damages shall be2 awarded against a political subdivision or local election office where the challenged action was taken in good faith 3[reliance upon written guidance, advisory opinions, or directives]3 2[issues] 3[issued2 by the Division of Elections or]3 2[Division of Voting Rights, the division that issued said guidance, opinion, or directive shall be liable for such damages] 3[the Attorney General2]3.1        17.  a.  In any action or investigation to enforce any provision of this act, P.L.    , c.    (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the 2[Division of Voting Rights] Attorney General2 shall have the authority to take proof and determine relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil and criminal laws of this State.

       18.  a.  The 2[Division of Voting Rights] Attorney General2 3[shall] may, subject to available funding,3 engage in public education efforts as necessary to inform the voting eligible population about their voting rights under this act, P.L.   , c.   (C.     )(pending before the Legislature as this bill),  including which populations are considered protected classes, which rights are available under language access provisions, and any causes of action and avenues of redress available for violations of this act.

     (1) (1)   estimates of protected class membership, including the total population, voting age population, citizen voting age population, and limited English proficiency by language spoken, broken down to the election district level on a year-by-year basis for every political subdivision in the State, based on data from the United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey, or data of comparable quality collected by a public office;

     (3) (3)   lists of election day poll sites, maps or other documentation of the configuration of districts in any format or formats specified by the director assigned to each election day poll site;

     c.   c.     Information and data required pursuant to subsection b.

     e.   e.     Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the division to:

     j.     The implementation of this section shall be subject to the appropriation of available funds.3        20.  In reporting information to the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection a.

of section 2 of P.L.2019, c.385 (C.52:4-1.2), the Department of Corrections shall give each individual's race, as identified using all racial and ethnic categories included by the United States Census, as well as whether the individual identifies with more than one race, whether the individual is of Hispanic or Latino origin, and whether the individual is over the age of 18, provided that such information is available.

        3[123.  a.  There is appropriated the sum of $2.5 million from the General Fund to the 2[Division of Voting Rights] Department of Law and Public Safety2 for the purposes of implementing the provisions of this act, including the costs associated with the language access requirements established pursuant to section 12 of this act.  A county or municipality that incurs additional costs as a result of the provisions of section 12 of this act shall apply for reimbursement of such costs in a manner prescribed by the 2[Division of Voting Rights] Attorney General2 , in consultation with the Division of Elections in the Department of State.