Language Assistance for Spanish-Speaking Voters

1. Language Assistance for Spanish-Speaking Voters Best Practices for Inclusive and Accessible Elections Prepared for NACRC Legislative Conference March 3, 2012 Washington, DC Rosalind Gold, Senior Director of Policy, Research and Advocacy rgold@naleo.org

2. The Voting Rights Act has three provisions that mandate language assistance Spanish-speaking voters: Section 4(e) of the original Act creates requirements for jurisdictions with significant Puerto Rican populations In the 1975 amendments: Section 4(f)(4) Section 203 Language Assistance Requirements of VRA for Spanish-speaking Voters

3. Section 4(f)(4) Coverage • Section 4(f)(4) requires coverage for jurisdictions that • provided only English-language voting/registration materials in 1972; • had relatively low voter registration rates; and • significant language minority populations. • Section 4(f)(4) coverage for Spanish-speaking voters: • Texas and Arizona, in entirety • 12 counties/townships in four other states

4. Section 203 Coverage • A jurisdiction is covered under Section 203 when: • more than 5 percent of the U.S. citizens of voting age of the jurisdiction are members of a single language minority and are limited-English proficient; • more than 10,000 of the U.S. citizens of voting age of the jurisdiction are members of a single language minority and are limited-English proficient; or • in the case of a jurisdiction subdivision that contains all or any part of an Indian reservation, more than • 5 percent of the American Indian or Alaska Native U.S. citizens of voting age within the Indian reservation are members of a single language minority and are limited-English proficient; and • The illiteracy rate of the group is higher than the national illiteracy rate (illiteracy rate is generally determined by the level of education). • Updated Section 203 determinations are now made on the basis of American Community Survey data

5. Language Assistance Required by Section 203 • All voting materials must be provided in Spanish: • Voter registration materials • Voting notices (such as information about location and hours for polling places, opportunities to register and registration deadlines) • Voting materials provided by mail • All election forms • Polling place materials and activities • Publicity • Ballots

6. Language Assistance Required by Section 203 • Oral instructions and assistance must be available at every stage of the process. • Language assistance requirements cover all elections, regardless of the type. • Language assistance does not need to be provided to every citizen in the jurisdiction; the jurisdiction can target language minority citizens,

7. Section 203 Coverage for Spanish in 2011 Determinations

8. “Emerging Communities” Now Covered under Section 203 • Some of the more notable jurisdictions now covered for Spanish are located in areas that are not “traditional” Latino population centers: • Aleutians East Borough, Alaska • Fairfax County, Virginia (metropolitan Washington, D.C. area) • Salt Lake County, Utah • Milwaukee, Wisconsin • Five new Massachusetts townships

9. Best Practices for Language Assistance to Latino Citizens • Election officials must make providing quality language assistance a top priority for their office • Language assistance efforts must be integrated effectively in the overall voter outreach/voter education program of the elections office • The staff assigned to the language assistance program must be very knowledgeable about/familiar with the needs of the language assistance community: • Harris County, Texas: County clerk’s office has one Voter Outreach Coordinator for each language minority/under-represented community: Latino, Vietnamese, Chinese, African American • Orange County, California: Also has outreach staff specifically dedicated to each language minority community; outreach staff work year-round, and not just during election season

10. Best Practices for Language Assistance to Latino Citizens • Translation of Materials • Translation services provider should possess the • knowledge/experience with the Spanish-language • differences of the Latino national or sub-groups • of the jurisdiction (such as Mexican, Puerto Rican, • Salvadoran, Cuban, Dominican) • Ideally, staff or community members who are • familiar with those differences should also • review materials • Careful proofreading and quality control for translated materials is critical • The jurisdiction may have requirements about the type of and services which may be used. • For statewide ballot measures or matters, jurisdictions may save costs by encouraging state election office to provide translation that can be used in every jurisdiction

11. Best Practices for Language Assistance to Latino Citizens • Pollworker Recruitment • Outreach through Spanish-language media, including civic affairs programming and public service announcements to educate public about pollworker opportunities • Small community newspapers that serve language minority neighborhoods • Work with your community working group to identify opportunities and organizations to help with recruitment: • Community and civic organizations; • Ethnic chambers of commerce or other • business groups • Government agencies that allow staff to take • time off on Election Day • College students (particularly those involved • in studies related to political science, civics, • social studies, or those seeking community service opportunities)

12. Best Practices for Language Assistance to Latino Citizens • Voter Information and Education: Hotlines • Callers should be able to easily reach individual who can provide language assistance – direct phone line to bilingual staff is ideal • Transferring callers several times, or telling them to call back is very ineffective • Automated systems should be checked • periodically to ensure that prompts work • and recorded information is up-to-date • Have community members call hotline from • time to monitor responsiveness of operators or automated system

13. Best Practices for Language Assistance to Latino Citizens • Voter Information and Education: Websites • Ideally, Spanish-language website should “fully-mirror” English-language site – if the information is provided in English, it should be provided in Spanish; • http://www.es.votespa.com/portal/server.pt/community/home/13514/home/587980

14. Best Practices for Language Assistance to Latino Citizens • Voter Information and Education: Websites • Voters should be able to easily find link to Spanish-language site. • Many voters who need language assistance are new to the electoral process, and need basic information about all aspects of registration and voting. Particularly useful features: • Polling place locators • Election calendars and early voting information • Vote-by-mail application and information • Mobile access • Voter registration materials and status confirmation (re-registering after move) • Sample ballot lookup tool • Common election terms • Lists of Elected officials • Provisional ballot status • Information on how to use voting equipment

15. Best Practices for Language Assistance to Latino Citizens http://www.votehillsborough.org/?id=2&spanish=Y

16. Best Practices for Language Assistance to Latino Citizens Community Working Groups • Regular convening of community members • who provide guidance and assistance to election • officials on voter outreach, education and • accessibility issues • Working group should be able to meet with staff that can take action to address issues raised by stakeholders • Community members can be active partners in developing solutions to challenges

17. ya es horais an historic non-partisan Latino civic participation campaign launched as the Latino community’s action-oriented follow-up to the immigrant mobilizations of 2006. Largest and most comprehensive effort to incorporate Latinos as full participants in the American political process. Multi-layered integrated campaign – a comprehensive approach linking naturalization to voter participation and Census enumeration under a single message: “it’s time.”

18. Non-Partisan Latino Voter Engagement To help mobilize the Latino electorate, the NALEO Educational Fund has launched a live phone GOTV campaign targeting low-propensity Latino voters across the country. ya es hora ¡Ve y Vota! – a coalition of national Latino advocacy organizations, leading Spanish-language media partners, and local CBOs – are committed to increasing Latino participation through a multi-layered mobilization and information effort, including PSAs, hotline, and website.