§ 4-108. Certification of proposed constitutional amendments and\nquestions. 1. a. Whenever any proposed amendment to the constitution or\nother question provided by law to be submitted to a statewide vote shall\nbe submitted to the people for their approval, the state board of\nelections at least three months prior to the general election at which\nsuch amendment, proposition or question is to be submitted, shall\ntransmit to each county board of elections a certified copy of the text\nof each amendment, proposition or question and a statement of the form\nin which it is to be submitted.\n b. Whenever any proposal, proposition or referendum as provided by law\nis to be submitted to a vote of the people of a county, city, town,\nvillage or special district, at an election conducted by the board of\nelections, the clerk of such political subdivision, at least three\nmonths prior to the general election at which such proposal, proposition\nor referendum is to be submitted, shall transmit to each board of\nelections a certified copy of the text of such proposal, proposition or\nreferendum and a statement of the form in which it is to be submitted.\nIf a special election is to be held, such transmittal shall also give\nthe date of such election.\n c. Such certified copy shall set out all new matter in italics and\nenclose in brackets, [ ], all matter to be eliminated from existing\nlaw, and at the bottom of each page shall be appended the words:\n Explanation: Matter in italics is new, to be added; matter in brackets\n[ ] is old law, to be omitted.\n d. In addition to the text, such transmittal shall contain an abstract\nof such proposed amendment, proposition or question, prepared by the\nstate board of elections in plain language.\n 2. The form in which the proposed amendment, proposition or question\nis to be submitted shall consist only of the following: a. a descriptive\ntitle of up to fifteen words, which describes the topic, goal, or\noutcome of the ballot question in plain language; b. a summary of the\ntext ballot proposal of up to thirty words, written in plain language,\nthat describes the change in policy to be adopted and not the legal\nmechanism; and c. a statement of what a YES or NO vote means in up to\nthirty words written in plain language that identifies the practical\noutcome of each election result and not the legal mechanism. If more\nthan one such amendment, proposition or question is to be voted upon at\nsuch election, each such amendment, proposition or question respectively\nshall be separately and consecutively numbered.\n 3. The attorney general shall advise in the preparation of such form\nof submission, and such recommendations shall be in plain language.\n 4. a. The state board of elections shall prominently publish on its\nwebsite at least four months prior to the general election at which a\nballot proposal shall appear, the proposed form of the ballot proposal\nand abstract. There shall be a public comment period of at least fifteen\ndays subsequent to such publication. The state board shall review and\nconsider public comments before adopting the final form of the ballot\nproposal and abstract.\n b. The state board of elections shall also publish on its website the\nAutomated Readability Index score calculated pursuant to subdivision six\nof this section for each form of question and abstract.\n The score shall require no higher than an eighth grade reading level\n(a score of 8 on the Automated Readability Index), unless the state\nboard of elections shall state the basis for its determination that the\nplain language requirements of this section are met.\n 5. For the purposes of this section, plain language shall mean the\nform of the ballot proposal and abstract:\n a. shall be written in easily comprehended, concise language;\n b. shall not contain more the one passive sentence;\n c. shall not use semicolons, using multiple sentences as necessary;\nand\n d. shall not contain dou
‹ Prev All New York sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.