New York regulations
Title 13 Part 501
Department of Law
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13 NYCRR 501.1 - Submission and review procedures
Repealed or removed in compiled source
The compiled source records this section as repealed. We hold the witnessed tombstone record; see the source for details.
Dates and status
- Compiling agency
- Department of Law
- Text status
- Source-only entry
- Compiled text through
- Jan 15, 2026
- Register checked through
- July 29, 2026/Vol. XLVIII, Issue 30 (2026-07-29)
- Activity status
- No later Register activity identified in this check.
- Source snapshot
- Jun 6, 2026
13 NYCRR 501.2 - Legal standard
No later Register activity identified in this check.
Dates and status
- Compiling agency
- Department of Law
- Text status
- Phase2b Dequote Reversal
- Register checked through
- July 29, 2026/Vol. XLVIII, Issue 30 (2026-07-29)
- Activity status
- No later Register activity identified in this check.
- Source snapshot
- May 19, 2026
(a)Grant or denial of preclearance.
The CRB shall grant preclearance to a covered policy only if the CRB is able to determine that the covered policy will not diminish the ability of members of a protected class to participate in the political process or to elect their preferred candidates to office. Absent such a determination, preclearance will be denied and the covered policy shall not be enacted or implemented.
(b)Basis for the CRB determination.
The CRB shall base a preclearance determination on a review of material presented by the covered entity, relevant information provided by interested individuals and groups or otherwise obtained by the CRB, and the results of any independent analysis conducted by the CRB.
(c)Standard of review.
A covered policy will be precleared only if it will not diminish the ability of members of any protected class to participate in the political process and to elect their preferred candidates to office.
(1)A covered policy will not diminish the ability of members of a protected class to participate in the political process and to elect their preferred candidates to office if it will not lead to a retrogression in the position of members of a protected class (i.e., it will not make members of such a group worse off than they had been before the change) with respect to their ability to participate in the political process and to elect their preferred candidates to office.
(2)A change will be deemed retrogressive as to a protected class’s ability to participate in the political process where: (i) the individuals who will be burdened by the change are disproportionately likely to be members of one or more protected classes; and (ii) the change imposes a burden material enough that it will likely cause some members of such protected classes not to vote or otherwise participate in the political process.
(3)Retrogression is assessed with respect to all impacted protected classes.
(d)Benchmark.
(1)In determining whether a covered policy submission is retrogressive, the CRB will compare the submitted change to the voting qualification, prerequisite to voting, law, ordinance, standard, practice procedure, regulation or policy (hereafter “policy”) in force or effect at the time of the submission.
(2)If the existing policy at the time of the submission was not in force or effect on the covered entity’s applicable date for coverage, it cannot serve as a benchmark, and the comparison shall be with the policy most recently in force or effect.
(3)In determining the appropriate benchmark, the CRB will evaluate the proposed change in light of all relevant conditions existing at the time of the submission, including whether an electoral contest other than the most recent one held provides a more appropriate benchmark. In making this determination, the CRB may consider, among other factors, the offices on the ballot and whether the proposed change involves a primary, general, or special election.
(4)The implementation and use of a covered policy that has not been precleared does not operate to make that practice a benchmark for any subsequent covered policy submitted by the covered entity.
(e)Burden of proof.
(1)Although information dispositive of whether preclearance should be granted or denied may be provided by third-party individuals or entities or obtained by the CRB’s own independent analysis, the burden of demonstrating that preclearance should be granted rests at all times with the covered entity submitting the proposed change.
(2)The covered entity must provide:
(i)sufficient information by which the CRB can determine the benchmark against which to compare the proposed covered policy; and
(ii)information sufficient to demonstrate that, as compared with that benchmark, the ability of any protected class present in the political subdivision to participate in the political process and to elect their preferred candidates to office will not be diminished as a result of enactment or implementation of the proposed change.
13 NYCRR 501.3 - Covered entities
No later Register activity identified in this check.
Dates and status
- Compiling agency
- Department of Law
- Text status
- Source receipt
- Compiled text through
- Jan 15, 2026
- Register checked through
- July 29, 2026/Vol. XLVIII, Issue 30 (2026-07-29)
- Activity status
- No later Register activity identified in this check.
- Source snapshot
- Jun 6, 2026
(a)The CRB will periodically publish a list of covered entities and may update such list at any time based on new information that is relevant to coverage determinations.
(b)For purposes of sections 17-210(3)(a) and (b) of the Election Law:
(1)A “finding of any violation” shall include a determination on the merits of a claim.
(2)A “finding of any violation” shall not include preliminary relief granted based on a likelihood of success on the merits and/or a weighing of relative harms.
(3)A consent decree or other executed written agreement shall be deemed to be based upon a finding of a violation, and thus may subject the political subdivision to preclearance coverage, if the agreement contains a finding of noncompliance with one of the laws or constitutional provisions enumerated in sections 17-210(3)(a) and (b) of the Election Law, and contains no provision denying liability with respect to such laws or constitutional provisions.
(4)“Similar formal action” as provided in section 17-204(9) of the Election Law includes, but is not limited to:
(i)A settlement agreement to which a federal or state entity is a party, if such agreement contains a finding of noncompliance with one of the laws or constitutional provisions enumerated in sections 17-210(3)(a) and (b) of the Election Law, and contains no provision denying liability with respect to such laws or constitutional provisions; and
(ii)A public report or other written document issued by a federal or state entity, if such report or document contains a finding of noncompliance with one of the laws or constitutional provisions enumerated in sections 17-210(3)(a) and (b) of the Election Law.
(c)In assessing covered entity status pursuant to sections 17-210(3)(c) and (d) of the Election Law, the CRB:
(1)Shall utilize rational methodologies, which may include information provided by the United States Census Bureau, or data of comparable quality; and
(2)May make such methodological decisions as may be reasonable and appropriate, including but not limited to:
(i)setting minimum population thresholds, for dissimilarity index score calculations or other measures;
(ii)selecting the appropriate spatial units (e.g., census tracts or block groups) to conduct any part of its analysis;
(iii)determining which tabulations of racial and ethnic data, as produced by the United States Census Bureau or a comparable body, are best suited to the CRB’s analysis; and
(iv)excluding or including institutionalized persons and other group housing populations, or similarly situated individuals, from population totals.
(d)A political subdivision that is deemed a covered entity solely on the basis of containing a covered entity fully within its borders, pursuant to section 17-210(3)(e) of the Election Law, shall be required to submit covered policies for preclearance only to the extent that such policies affect elections held in the covered entity that is contained within such political subdivision’s borders.
(e)The State of New York shall be deemed not to constitute a political subdivision as defined in section 17-204(4) of the Election Law. Accordingly, State actors, including the Governor and State Legislature, are not required to submit covered policies for preclearance.
13 NYCRR 501.4 - Covered policies
No later Register activity identified in this check.
Dates and status
- Compiling agency
- Department of Law
- Text status
- Source receipt
- Compiled text through
- Jan 15, 2026
- Register checked through
- July 29, 2026/Vol. XLVIII, Issue 30 (2026-07-29)
- Activity status
- No later Register activity identified in this check.
- Source snapshot
- Jun 6, 2026
(a)Scope of coverage.
(1)The preclearance requirement applies to any covered policy, even if it appears to be minor or indirect, returns to a prior practice or procedure, purports to expand voting rights, or is designed to remove the elements that caused the CRB to deny preclearance to a prior submitted change.
(2)The preclearance requirement applies to changes enacted by or implemented through the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial branches.
(3)State or federal law:
(i)State and federal laws and regulations are not subject to preclearance.
(ii)Covered policies enacted or implemented in order to comply with State or federal law are exempt from preclearance review only where such enactment or implementation does not require the use of discretion by the covered entity.
(4)A grant of preclearance by the CRB with respect to local legislation that requires, permits, or enables a political subdivision to implement a covered policy (hereinafter the “parent legislation”) does not exempt the implementation of the particular covered policy that is enabled, permitted, or required from the preclearance requirement, unless such implementation was explicitly included and described in the submission of the precleared parent legislation. Such parent legislation may include:
(i)Local legislation authorizing a political subdivision to institute a covered policy described in section 17-210(2) of the Election Law or designated by this title;
(ii)Local legislation requiring a political subdivision that chooses a certain form of government to follow specified election procedures;
(iii)Local legislation requiring or authorizing political subdivisions of a certain size or a certain location to institute specified changes; and
(iv)Local legislation requiring a political subdivision to follow certain practices or procedures, unless the political subdivision’s charter or local laws specify to the contrary.
(5)Court-ordered changes.
(i)Covered policies for which approval by a state or federal court is required, or that are ordered by a state or federal court, are exempt from preclearance review only where the court prepared the change and the change was not proposed by, and has not been subsequently adopted or modified by, the relevant covered entity.
(ii)Where a court-ordered change at its inception is not subject to preclearance review, a subsequent adoption or ratification of the change, implementation in a manner not explicitly required or authorized by the court, or other action by the covered entity involving the use of discretion by such covered entity renders the change subject to preclearance review with regard to any future implementation.
(iii)Where a court-ordered change is not itself subject to preclearance review, subsequent changes necessitated by the court order but which reflect the use of discretion by the covered entity are subject to preclearance. For example, election district and polling site changes made necessary by a court-ordered redistricting plan, but which are determined through discretion exercised by the covered entity, are subject to preclearance review.
(6)A change is considered to be made when the determination to make the change, and the discretion involved in the decision, is finalized, even if the change is not made operative until the next applicable election. After a previously enacted covered policy has been precleared, implementation of that policy may be required to be precleared separately if it requires discretion to implement.
(7)A grant of preclearance by the CRB with respect to a procedure for instituting a covered policy does not exempt the substantive change from the preclearance requirement. For example, if the procedure for the approval of an annexation is changed from City Council approval to approval in a voter referendum, preclearance of the new annexation procedure does not exempt an annexation accomplished under the new procedure from the preclearance requirement.
(8)A “poll site” shall be construed to include any location at which a vote may be cast in accordance with State law, including but not limited to ballot drop boxes.
(b)Recurring practices.
(1)Where a political subdivision implements a policy periodically or upon certain established contingencies, a change is deemed to have occurred upon any of the following circumstances:
(i)The first time the policy is implemented by the political subdivision;
(ii)When the manner in which the policy is implemented by the political subdivision is changed; and
(iii)When the rules for determining when the policy will be implemented are changed.
(2)A grant of preclearance by the CRB with respect to a recurrent policy constitutes preclearance of the future use of the policy if its recurrent nature is clearly stated or described in the submission or is expressly recognized in the report and determination of the CRB on the merits of the submission.