Bill > A1715

This bill establishes the "John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey," which creates comprehensive state-level protections for voting rights modeled after the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark federal law originally enacted to outlaw discriminatory voting practices. The legislation prohibits state and local government entities from enacting or implementing any voting qualifications, procedures, or policies that result in voter suppression or vote dilution against protected classes, defined as racial, color, or language-minority groups. To combat vote dilution where elections exhibit racially polarized voting—meaning a consistent divergence in political preferences between protected classes and other voters—the bill allows courts to order alternative methods of election, such as district-based systems where minority groups do not need to comprise a numerical majority to effectively elect candidates of their choice. Furthermore, the legislation empowers the New Jersey Attorney General, specifically through the Division on Civil Rights, to enforce these provisions, investigate violations, and oversee a "preclearance" program, which is a process requiring specific local governments with histories of discrimination or low minority participation to obtain prior approval from the state before enacting any new election-related policies. The bill also mandates language assistance and translated voting materials in jurisdictions where a significant percentage or number of voting-age citizens are limited English proficient, prohibits voter intimidation and deceptive communications, creates a centralized online state database for election data to improve public transparency, and allows aggrieved individuals or organizations to bring civil lawsuits in the Superior Court of New Jersey to secure appropriate legal remedies and attorneys' fees.