ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
[Second Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 4083
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JANUARY 8, 2026
The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4083 (2R).
As amended by the committee, this bill establishes the “John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey.”
Under the bill, all statutes, rules, and regulations in this State including all local laws or ordinances related to the elective franchise must be construed liberally in favor of:
(1) protecting the right of voters to have their ballot cast and counted;
(2) ensuring that eligible voters are not impaired in registering to vote; and
(3) ensuring voters of race, color, and language-minority groups have equitable access to fully participate in the electoral process in registering to vote and voting.
For purposes of this bill, the Attorney General is the chief legal officer in the State and tasked with enforcement of the bill’s provisions.
The bill prohibits elections officials from prescribing or maintaining voting or elections policies and practices that unnecessarily deny or abridge the right to vote. The bill also prohibits a local election office or political subdivision from using a method of election that has the effect of impairing the ability of members of a protected class to elect candidates of their choice or influence the outcome of elections, as a result of vote dilution. The bill requires that any policy or practice that burdens the right to vote must be narrowly tailored to promote a compelling interest and supported by substantial evidence. The bill provides criteria for determining if a violation of the bill has occurred, including if a voter’s right to vote has been violated or if the voter has experienced vote dilution.
If a violation of the provisions of the bill occurs, the bill provides a remedy process, including for apportionment and redistricting maps. The bill provides that after a New Jersey Voter Empowerment Act (NJVEA) notification letter is mailed from a prospective plaintiff to a political subdivision, the political subdivision may pass an NJVEA resolution affirming: (1) the political subdivision's intention to enact and implement a remedy for a potential violation; (2) specific steps the political subdivision will undertake to facilitate approval and implementation of such a remedy; and (3) a schedule for enacting and implementing such a remedy.
The bill provides that if the governing body of a political subdivision lacks the authority under this act or applicable State law or local laws to enact or implement a remedy identified in the resolution, or fails to enact or implement a remedy identified in the resolution, within 140 days after the passage of the resolution, or if the political subdivision is a covered entity as defined by the bill, the governing body of the political subdivision must coordinate with the Attorney General to resolve the violation, including affirming that any proposal is unlikely to violate the United States Constitution, New Jersey Constitution, or any federal or State law, and is feasible to implement.
Under the bill, as amended, the Attorney General is provided with certain preclearance powers. The bill provides that if certain political subdivisions that have been the subject of a court order or government enforcement action based on violations of the bill, the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, the 15th amendment to the United States Constitution, or a voting-related violation of the 14th amendment to the United States Constitution, they may be subject to preclearance, which is the process of obtaining prior approval from the Attorney General or a court of this State for any changes related to election procedures in that political subdivision. The bill also provides that any final determination of the NJ Division of Civil Rights, a court approved consent decree, or any violation of State or federal election law against members of a protected class may be cause for subjecting a political subdivision to the bill’s preclearance procedures. Counties and political subdivisions that meet certain criteria regarding the number of voters belonging to a protected class and their participation in elections may additionally be subject to preclearance procedures.
The bill provides definitions for a “covered entity” and a “covered policy” and requires that covered entities submit their at-large method of election and districting plans to the Attorney General for review and approval following a decennial census.
The bill provides assistance to language-minority groups. Under the bill, a local election office or a political subdivision that administers elections must provide language-related assistance in voting and elections to a language-minority group in a political subdivision based on data from the United States Census Bureau American Community Survey, or data of comparable quality collected by a public office, if: (1) more than two percent, but in no instance fewer than 100 individuals, of eligible voters of a political subdivision are members of a single language-minority group and are limited English proficient; or (2) more than 4,000 of eligible voters of such political subdivision are members of a single language-minority group and are limited English proficient.
As amended, the bill requires that the Attorney General conduct a study every two years to determine whether additional political subdivisions should be required to provide language assistance to additional language minority groups.
The bill further provides that a local election office or political subdivision required to provide language assistance to a particular language-minority group must provide voting materials in the covered language of an equal quality of the corresponding English language materials, including registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, or other physical or online materials or information relating to the electoral process, including ballots. When a designated language has more than one spoken dialect, the local election office or political subdivision must ascertain the dialects that are commonly used by members of the applicable language minority group in the jurisdiction and provide oral assistance in such dialects.
Under the bill, any aggrieved persons or organization whose membership includes aggrieved persons or members of a protected class, any organization whose mission, in whole or in part, is to ensure voting access and such mission would be hindered by a violation of this bill, or the Attorney General may file an action pursuant to the bill’s provisions in court. The bill provides that for any action or investigation to enforce any provision of this bill, the Attorney General would 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.
The purpose of this bill is to:
(1) encourage participation in the elective franchise by all eligible voters to the maximum extent;
(2) ensure that eligible voters who are members of racial, ethnic, and language minority groups have an equal opportunity to participate in the political processes of this State and exercise the elective franchise;
(3) improve the quality and availability of demographic and election data; and
(4) protect eligible voters against intimidation and deceptive practices.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
These amendments remove references to the Division of Voting Rights, which would have been established in the Department of the Treasury and tasked with enforcement of the bill’s provisions. The amendments assign responsibility for enforcing the bill’s provisions with the Attorney General.
The amendments remove language that would have established a violation any time a local government:
closed, moved, or consolidated one or more election districts, polling places, or ballot drop boxes;
changed the time or date of an election in a manner that disproportionately impaired the right to vote of members of a protected class;
scheduled a special election for a date that would likely result in a disparity in levels of participation between protected class voters and other voters; or
did not schedule a special election for a vacancy in an office for which protected class voters were generally able to elect candidates of their choice.
These amendments also remove language that would have prohibited the assertion of any sovereign, governmental, executive, legislative, or deliberative immunities and privileges in the course of litigation arising from the bill’s provisions or other voting-related claims.
The amendments provide that a court may order remedies which may run contrary to law if necessary to remedy a violation of the bill’s provisions. A court is authorized to order remedies intended to mitigate the risk of future violations and the disruption of the electoral system.
The amendments also allow a political subdivision to seek relief from any applicable election-related deadlines if necessary to complete the redistricting process.
These amendments remove school districts from the process for notifying a local government of voting rights violations arising under the bill’s provisions. The amendments also require a prospective plaintiff to notify the Division of Elections, the county clerk, the county board of elections, and, as applicable, the county superintendent of elections, of any potential violations of the bill’s provisions.
The amendments extend the time period for a political subdivision notified of a potential violation to implement a remedy for the violation from 90 to 140 days from receipt of the notice.
The amendments further require the Attorney General to consult with the Division of Elections prior to approving the implementation of any remedy proposed by a political subdivision. The amendments require that consideration be given to the feasibility of any remedy so proposed prior to its implementation.
These amendments remove the form of government and methods of maintaining voter rolls from the list of covered policies subject to preclearance procedures.
The amendments reduce the timeframe of violations which may subject a political subdivision to preclearance procedures from 25 years to 15 years, except that a longer timeframe may be considered for good cause shown. Certain political subdivisions identified based upon the prevalence of protected class members and applicable poverty rates have been removed from the list of covered entities which would be subject to preclearance procedures. Political subdivisions that fall within another political subdivision that is subject to preclearance have also been removed from the list of covered entities.
These amendment provide that any denials of preclearance will be heard by the Law Division of the Superior Court, rather than the Appellate Division.
The amendments also remove language which would have permitted any nonpartisan civic organization having an interest in an election's administration to request that the local election office or political subdivision administering the election to allow poll monitors inside any poll site or any place of ballot deposit.
The amendments require the Attorney General to conduct a study every two years to determine whether additional political subdivisions should be subject to requirements to provide language access to limited English proficient individuals.
The amendments remove provisions which would have established a “New Jersey Voting and Elections Institute” at a public university in this State and instead provide for the creation of a publicly accessible elections database to be maintained by the Division of Elections.
The amendments specify that, beginning January 1, 2027, the Attorney General can no longer act as the legal representative for political subdivisions with regard to any election related issue. Political subdivisions will be required to retain private counsel which the State will reimburse the political subdivisions for, up to a cost of $250 per hour.
The amendments establish a special dedicated, non-lapsing fund for the reimbursement of political subdivisions for the cost of private counsel and appropriate $2.5 million to this fund.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Fiscal information is currently unavailable.