Transcript TITLE OF PRESENTATION PRESENTED BY: FIRST LAST NAME …

July 17, 2015
Elections Administration: Best Practices of
Voting Rights Act-Language Support
PANEL AT THE 2010 NACRC LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE
March 3, 2012
TERRY AO MINNIS, DIRECTOR OF CENSUS & VOTING PROGRAMS
ASIAN AMERICAN JUSTICE CENTER
Who We Are
 Founded in 1991, AAJC is a national organization
working to advance the civil and human rights of
Asian Americans, and build and promote a fair and
equitable society for all.
 Along with three affiliates, we comprise the Asian
American Center for Advancing Justice. As an
affiliated organization we engage in policy advocacy,
impact litigation, research, and we provide a range of
direct services.
> Asian Pacific American Legal Center (Los Angeles)
> Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco)
> Asian American Institute (Chicago)
Overview of Section 203
 Section 203 requires certain jurisdictions to
provide language assistance to voters
depending on population size
 Section 203 covers Alaska Natives, American
Indians, Asian Americans and Latinos
 Census Bureau releases a new list of
covered jurisdictions every five years
3
Types of Language Assistance Available
Under Section 203
 Translated written materials
>ballots, voter registration forms, polling
place signs, other voting materials
 Oral assistance
>bilingual poll workers, interpreters
 Pre-election publicity
>ethnic media, community outreach
4
Section 203 Coverage Formula
For any particular jurisdiction, a language
minority group is covered if:
1. LEP voting-age citizens from the group
either number at least 10,000 or make up
5% of the jurisdiction’s total voting-age citizens
AND
2. The illiteracy rate of the group is higher than
the national illiteracy rate
SECTION 203 & ASIAN
AMERICANS
6
New Section 203 Determination
 Census Bureau released new determination in
October 2011
 11 states now have jurisdictions covered for Asian
American language groups, compared to 7 states in
previous determination made in 2002
 43 Asian American geographic populations are now
covered, compared to 27 populations in 2002
 Asian Indian and Bangladeshi are now covered, in
addition to Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean and
Vietnamese
> LA County is providing assistance in Khmer and Thai to
satisfy their obligations for “Other Asian – Not Specified”
7
States with covered jurisdictions under new
2011 Section 203 determinations for Asian
languages
 Alaska (2 boroughs, 1 language covered total)
 California (8 counties, 8 languages covered total)
 Hawaii (2 counties, 3 languages covered total)
 Illinois (1 county, 2 languages covered)
 Massachusetts* (1 city, 1 language covered)
 Michigan* (1 city, 1 language covered)
 Nevada* (1 county, 1 language covered)
 New Jersey* (1 county, 1 language covered)
 New York (3 counties, 3 languages covered total)
 Texas (1 county, 2 languages covered)
 Washington (1 county , 2 languages covered)
8
Currently 9 Asian American language
groups covered by Section 203
Covered language group
# of jurisdictions covered
for language group
Asian Indian*
3
Bangladeshi*
1
Chinese
16
Filipino
9+
Japanese
2
Korean
4
Khmer (Other Asian – not specified)*
1
Thai (Other Asian – not specified)*
1
Vietnamese
7
+ One
jurisdiction in Alaska dropped from Section 203 coverage between 2002
and 2011.
9
New Section 203 Determination and Asian
American Voters
 Over 4 million
Asian American
voting-age citizens
are now covered
by Section 203.
> This represents a
54% increase
since the last
determinations
made in 2002
State
Asian
American
CVAP
Alaska
1,194
California
2,400,212
Hawaii
451,186
Illinois
184,870
Massachusetts
11,802
Michigan
2,026
Nevada
114,099
New Jersey
61,842
New York
498,627
Texas
139,172
Washington
165,080
10
The Need for Language Assistance by
Asian American Voters
 Asian Americans speak dozens of languages and dialects.
 About a third of Asian Americans are Limited English
Proficient (LEP) and experience some difficulty
communicating in English.
> The Vietnamese, Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Hmong, Taiwanese,
Chinese, Korean and Laotion American communities have the
greatest percentage of LEP individuals.
 3 out of 4 Asian Americans speak a language other than
English at home.
 21% of Asian American households are linguistically
isolated, meaning that all household members 14 years
old and over speak English less than “very well.”
Exit Polling Also Indicates Need for
Language Assistance
 APALC exit poll of Los Angeles County voters during
November 2008 election showed
> 36% of Chinese American voters were LEP and 30%
used assistance
> 57% of Korean American voters were LEP and 60%
used assistance
> 48% of Vietnamese American voters were LEP and
50% used assistance
> 27% of Indian American voters were LEP (weren’t
covered by Section 203 at that time)
12
Success of Section 203
 When properly implemented, both Asian American
voter registration and voter participation has
increased significantly in covered jurisdictions.
> For example, voter registration among Filipino
Americans increased by 21% after DOJ enforced
Section 203 requirements to provide Tagalog
language assistance in San Diego County, CA.
– Similarly, voter registration among Vietnamese Americans
increased by 37% after the county agreed to voluntarily
provide assistance in Vietnamese.
> In Harris County, Texas, turnout among eligible
Vietnamese American voters doubled after DOJ took
action in 2004 to bring the county into compliance.
13
Common Section 203 Issues Spotted
During Poll Monitoring Efforts
 Lack of translated ballots and other materials
 Refusal to display translated material
 Poor signage, no bilingual poll worker badges
 Lack of voter hotline information
 Hostility toward poll monitors & language
minority voters
 Lack of bilingual poll workers
 Unnecessary voter ID checks
 Other issues
14
PROPER IMPLEMENTATION
OF SECTION 203 FOR ASIAN
AMERICAN VOTERS
15
SECTION 203 IMPLEMENTATION &
COMPLIANCE: DOJ Regulations
 The DOJ regulations offer two basic
standards for measuring compliance:
> Whether materials and assistance are provided in
a way designed to allow voters to be effectively
informed of and participate effectively in votingconnected activities
> Whether the covered jurisdiction takes all
reasonable steps to achieve that goal
 The opinion of community members and
organizations is important in assessing
compliance
16
Some Pre-Election Issues and Activities
 Written Assistance
> Accurate translations of materials
 Oral Assistance
> Targeting of poll sites for language assistance
> Poll worker recruitment and training
 Pre-Election Publicity
> Adequate publicity through media and outreach
 General Issues
> Advisory committee
> Preparation for Election Day troubleshooting
17
WRITTEN MATERIALS:
Comprehensive Review
Election officials should conduct a comprehensive
review of election materials to identify materials that
should be (or still need to be) translated, such as:
 Ballots
 Sample ballot booklets
 Vote-by-mail or absentee materials
 Provisional ballot materials
 Voter registration forms
 Poll worker name badges
 Polling place signs
 Voter information guides
 Registration of voters’ website
18
WRITTEN MATERIALS:
Accurate Translations
 Election officials should ensure accurate
translation of election materials:
> Use a certified translation vendor
> Provide opportunities for CBOs to review drafts of
translated materials
> Work with CBOs and ethnic media to establish a
glossary of commonly used election terms
 Election officials should ensure complete
translation of ballot information by using
translations, including phonetic translations
(called transliterations), of candidate names
19
POLL WORKER RECRUITMENT, TRAINING
& TARGETING: Targeting Poll Sites
 If targeting poll sites for language assistance,
election officials should use sound
methodology to identify poll sites where
language assistance is needed:
> Consult with CBOs on methodology for poll site
targeting
> Use variety of data to identify poll sites, including
place of birth, name matching, census data,
requests for language assistance, and information
provided by community members
20
POLL WORKER RECRUITMENT, TRAINING
& TARGETING: Adequate Recruitment
 Form partnerships with other agencies and
departments within the jurisdiction to identify and
recruit bilingual government employees
 Explore partnerships with high schools and
colleges to recruit bilingual students
 Ask ethnic media outlets to run PSAs to let the
public know about opportunities to serve as poll
workers
 Explore partnerships with CBOs to recruit bilingual
poll workers through community outreach efforts
 Establish reserve pool of bilingual poll workers to be
sent to poll sites where bilingual poll workers are
missing on Election Day
21
POLL WORKER RECRUITMENT, TRAINING
& TARGETING: Poll Worker Training
Election officials should ensure adequate training of
poll workers on language assistance and cultural
sensitivity:
 Devote sufficient time and emphasis during trainings
to the proper delivery of language assistance and
cultural sensitivity
 Provide CBOs with opportunities to review and
comment on drafts of poll worker training curricula
 Provide CBOs with opportunities to observe poll
worker trainings
 Allow CBOs to conduct presentations and workshops
as part of poll worker trainings to help educate poll
workers on the communities they will be serving
22
POLL WORKER RECRUITMENT, TRAINING
& TARGETING: Problematic Poll Workers
 Election officials should establish a
mechanism for handling complaints about poll
workers lodged by language minority voters,
including addressing Election Day problems
on-the-spot as well as post-Election Day
counseling of poll workers
23
PRE-ELECTION PUBLICITY & OUTREACH:
Election Officials Should…
 Use ethnic media to publicize the availability of language
assistance:
> Ask ethnic media outlets to run PSAs
> Work with CBOs to identify earned media opportunities
> Add ethnic media outlets to press list
 Conduct outreach to community members:
> Form partnerships with CBOs to publicize the availability of
language assistance
> Send outreach staff to community events and gathering places
 Conduct direct outreach to language minority voters:
> Mail in-language postcards to voters within a covered language
minority group to let them know about the option to receive
translated election materials prior to Election Day, together with a
form to sign up to receive translated materials
24
GENERAL PRACTICES THAT SHOULD BE
ADOPTED
 Establish an advisory committee consisting of CBO
representatives working with and/or serving language
minority voters
 Hire election staff, such as a language minority
coordinator, to coordinate the jurisdiction’s efforts to
meet its Section 203 requirements
 Set up an Election Day troubleshooter team to check
poll sites for, and resolve, issues such as missing
bilingual poll workers or translated materials
 Add multilingual capacity to the jurisdiction’s voter
hotline
25
Advancing Justice Resources
 Help Asian Americans
Protect their Voting Rights:
A Guide to Ensure
Language Assistance
During Elections – Section
203 handbook
 Suggested Implementation
Checklist for Jurisdictions
Covered by Section 203
 Section 203 website –
www.advancingequality.org/
section-203
26
Contact Information
Terry Ao Minnis
Director of Census & Voting Programs
Asian American Justice Center
202 296-2300 x127
[email protected]
For more information, visit www.advancingequality.org
27