{"data":{"id":"us-nj/n.j.-stat.-19-4a-12","jurisdiction":"us-nj","citation":"N.J. Stat. § 19:4A-12","heading":"Languages designated, assistance in voting, elections.","body":"12. a. The Attorney General shall designate one or more languages, other than English, for which assistance in voting and elections shall be provided by a local election office or a political subdivision that administers elections if, based on the most recent set of data from the United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey, or data of comparable quality collected by a  government entity, including, but not limited to, any data collection required by this act, it is determined that:\n(1) more than two percent, but in no instance fewer than 300 individuals, of citizens of voting age of a political subdivision speak a particular shared language other than English and are limited English proficient individuals; or\n(2)  more than 4,000 citizens of voting age of such political subdivision speak a particular shared language other than English and are limited English proficient individuals.\nb.  A local election office or political subdivision required to provide language assistance to a particular language-minority group pursuant to this section shall provide physical, and may make available online, electoral and voting materials in the covered language, including ballots, registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, other materials or information relating to the electoral process, and any public-facing materials required by this act, P.L.2026, c.31 (C.19:4A-1 et seq.), consistent with the definition of “translation” as used in P.L.2023, c.263 (C.52:14-40 et seq.).  All such materials shall be provided in the language of the applicable language-minority group as well as in the English language, provided that where the language of the applicable language-minority group is historically oral or unwritten, the local election office or political subdivision shall only be required to furnish oral instructions, assistance, and all other information relating to registration and voting, including the ballot, orally.  Any provided translation must translate from one language to another in an effective manner to convey the intent and essential meaning of the original text and communication and must not solely rely on automatic electronic translation services. Language assistance shall also include the presence of bilingual members of a district board appointed, pursuant to R.S.19:6-1, where and when available and, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, such district board members need not be residents of the county in which they will serve but shall be residents of the State.\nc.\tIn cases where the designated language has more than one spoken dialect, the local election office or political subdivision subject to the requirements of this section shall, to the extent feasible, 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.\nd.\tA local election office or political subdivision may file an action against the State for a declaratory judgment challenging the designation which requires such election office or political subdivision to provide assistance in languages other than English pursuant to subsection a. of this section or permitting the provision of materials that do not meet the standard defined in this section or English-only material.  A court of this State shall grant the requested relief if it finds that the designation by the Attorney General was arbitrary and capricious or an abuse of discretion.\ne.\tTo the extent not already required by P.L.2023, c.263 (C.52:14-40 et seq.), where the State creates, produces, or disseminates relevant physical and online electoral and voting materials for or to local election offices or to political subdivisions subject to the requirements of this section, the State shall also comply with the requirements of this section.\nf.\tThe Division of Elections within the Department of State shall establish a clearinghouse for the translation of common terminology utilized on election ballots, voter registration forms, and other essential voting-related materials.  Local election offices, political subdivisions, and other election officials shall consult with the clearinghouse to ensure accurate translations when providing language assistance and materials to voters pursuant to this section.\ng.\tNothing in this section shall be construed to limit the applicability or reduce the number of non-English languages to which vital documents are required to be translated pursuant to P.L.2023, c.263 (C.52:14-40 et seq.).\nL.2026, c.31, s.12.","path":["TITLE 19 ELECTIONS"],"source_url":"https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/statutes/STATUTES-TEXT.zip","current_through":"P.L.2026, c.50, and J.R.1","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-10-18T02:17:40Z","sha256":"772ae14f326f7dd5b027138c4f88ed8a02c13ec5059f9fe54dcc40e4222656d9","source_id":"us-nj","stale":false,"prev":"us-nj/n.j.-stat.-19-4a-11","next":"us-nj/n.j.-stat.-19-4a-13"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}