ALBANY, N.Y. — New York celebrated Juneteenth and paid tribute to the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis on Monday by enacting sweeping new voter protections.
The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York, signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, will make it easier to sue over discriminatory voting policies and require areas with a history of civil right violations to get approval before changing election rules.
“This is one of the most important bills to make it through the state Legislature in recent history and it will deliver the strongest and most comprehensive voter protections of any state in America,” sponsor Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, D-Brownsville, said during a ceremony at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.
