Section 9-368l - Language assistance in voting and elections to be provided in municipalities. Regulations. Filing of court actions by aggrieved parties(a) The Secretary of the State shall designate one or more languages, other than English, for which assistance in voting and elections shall be provided in a municipality if the Secretary finds that a significant and substantial need exists for such assistance.(b)(1) The Secretary of the State shall find that such significant and substantial need exists if, based on the best available data, which may include information from the United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey, or data of comparable quality collected by a governmental entity: (A) More than two per cent of the citizens of voting age of such municipality speak a particular shared language other than English and are limited English proficient individuals;(B) More than four thousand of the citizens of voting age of such municipality speak a particular shared language other than English and are limited English proficient individuals; or(C) In the case of a municipality that contains any part of a Native American reservation, more than two per cent of the Native American citizens of voting age within such Native American reservation speak a particular shared language other than English and are limited English proficient individuals. As used in this subdivision, "Native American" includes any person recognized by the United States Census Bureau, or this state, as "American Indian".(2) As used in this section, "limited English proficient individual" means an individual who does not speak English as such individual's primary language and who speaks, reads or understands the English language less than "very well", in accordance with United States Census Bureau data or data of comparable quality collected by a governmental entity.(c) Not later than January 15, 2024, and at least annually thereafter, the Secretary of the State shall publish on the Internet web site of the office of the Secretary of the State a list of (1) each municipality in which assistance in voting and elections in a language other than English shall be provided, and (2) each such language in which such assistance shall be provided in each such municipality. The Secretary's determinations under this section shall be effective upon such publication. The Secretary shall distribute to each affected municipality the information contained in such list.(d) Each municipality described in subsection (c) of this section shall provide assistance in voting and elections, including related materials, in any language designated by the Secretary of the State under subsection (a) of this section to electors in such municipality who are limited English proficient individuals.(e) Whenever the Secretary of the State determines, pursuant to this section, that language assistance shall be provided in a municipality, such municipality shall provide competent assistance in each designated language and shall provide related materials (1) in English, and (2) in each designated language, including registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, ballots or other materials or information relating to the electoral process, except that in the case of a language that is oral or unwritten, including historically unwritten as may be the case for some Native Americans, such municipality may provide only oral instructions, assistance or other information relating to the electoral process in such language. All materials provided in a designated language shall be of an equal quality to the corresponding English materials. All provided translations shall convey the intent and essential meaning of the original text or communication and shall not rely solely on any automatic translation service. Whenever available, language assistance shall also include live translation.(f) The Secretary of the State shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to establish a review process under which the Secretary shall determine, upon receipt of a request submitted under this subsection, whether a significant and substantial need exists in a municipality for a language to be designated for the provision of assistance in voting and elections whenever such a need has not been found under subsection (b) of this section. Such process shall include, at a minimum, (1) an opportunity for any elector, organization whose membership includes or is likely to include electors, organization whose mission would be frustrated by a municipality's failure to provide such language assistance or organization that would expend resources in order to fulfill such organization's mission as a result of such a failure, to submit a request for the Secretary to consider so designating a language in a municipality, (2) an opportunity for public comment, and (3) that, upon receipt of any such request and consideration of any such public comment, the Secretary may, in accordance with the process for making such determination, so designate any language in a municipality.(g) Any individual aggrieved by a violation of this section, any organization whose membership includes individuals aggrieved by such a violation or the Secretary of the State may file an action alleging a violation of this section in the superior court for the judicial district in which such violation has occurred, except that no determination of the Secretary under this section to designate a municipality or a language for the provision of assistance shall constitute a violation of this section.Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-368l
Added by P.A. 23-0204,S. 413 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2023 Regular Session, eff. 1/1/2024.