October 20, 2011

I. In Focus This Week

:10pt;”>New counties included, but overall number lower than in past

By M. Mindy Moretti

Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Yup’ik, Filipino, Japanese, Kickapoo, Navajo, Hopi, Yuma, Yaqui, Tonhono O’Odham, Pueblo, Inupait, Choctaw, Bengali, and Alaskan Athabascan.

Today there are dozens of languages other than English in which voting materials must be provided in half the states across the country.

While that may seem like a lot of languages in a lot of states, the new Census Bureau determinations for localities that fall under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act , released late last week, are actually down from a decade ago—even as the nation’s population has grown overall in the past 10 years.

Under the new Section 203 designations, 248 cities and counties in 25 states must offer voting assistance in a language other than English. Following the 2000 Census, 296 jurisdictions in 30 states were required to provide language assistance.

Even with fewer localities falling under Section 203 jurisdiction, there are still many of areas that are new to the designation with Spanish being the predominant language in many of the new jurisdictions.

“We were not sure if we were going to qualify,” said John Tuteur, registrar of voters for Napa County, Calif. “I think we were only surprised though that not more counties were added.”

Tuteur said his office has been voluntarily providing some Spanish-language materials a while back, but that now the office would be working with vendors and outreach people to prepare for the bilingual materials that first need to be offered in June 2012.

Salt Lake County is only the second county in Utah to fall under Section 203 and the first to be required to offer materials in Spanish. The county will begin offering voter registration in Spanish on Jan. 1, 2012 and their first bilingual election will be in June.

“We are going to confer with counties where Section 203 has already been implemented. We can learn a lot from them and their experience,” said Clerk Sherrie Swensen. “We have established a committee to begin the process and are meeting this week.”

Swensen said the ballot vendor used by the county works with many other Section 203 jurisdictions and she hopes to use them as a starting point as well for what the county will need to do to be ready.

One place jurisdictions will be able to turn to for help is the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The EAC provides numerous language assistance materials including voter guides in multiple languages.

For some counties, Section 203 designation isn’t new, but the language may be. Ten years ago, Sacramento County in California was required to provide elections materials in Spanish, this time it’s Chinese in addition to Spanish.

“Our first effort will be to identify where our Chinese voters are to start our outreach efforts.  We will need community support for this project,” said Jill LaVine, registrar of voters. “Since this is our first “character based” language we are learning what our election management software will accommodate.  We are looking at ballot layout – do we put all three languages on one ballot?  Our ballot printer has been notified of the change.”

LaVine said her office has already been in touch with other California counties that provide materials in Chinese to see what sort of helpful hints they can offer.

The county’s previous experience with Section 203 designation is also helping LaVine budget for the new language, which she estimates should cost about $200,000 to provide all the necessary materials and hire all the necessary staff.

Some states — like Virginia and Wisconsin — will see their first Section 203 designations.

“To be quite honest, we’ve been so busy the past eight months that I hadn’t given the issue much thought. We had the two spring elections, a statewide recount in April, two recall elections, and we were busy working on redistricting and it’s impact on our office,” said Susan Edman, executive director of Milwaukee’s election commission. “Had I’d given it some thought, I would not have been as surprised as I was when I heard the news.”

Although many of the new jurisdictions have until their 2012 primaries to prepare, for some, those primaries are sooner rather than later and the push is on to get materials printed and more importantly get bilingual poll workers.

“I’m a little concerned,” Edman said. “The bottom line is we have to get it done. If necessary we’ll reach out to corporations in Milwaukee and ask that they allow their bilingual employees to work the polls without penalty.”

In Fairfax County, Va., the designation and more-to-the point, the timing of the designation came as a surprise. The county has an election coming up in November.

“While we were aware of the possibility, we were not expecting the designation necessarily, since 10 years ago we also thought it might happen in Virginia and it did not,” said Cameron Quinn, executive director of the Fairfax County board of elections. “Also, and more to the point, when we got past mid-September, when absentee ballots must be sent 45 days out, in conformity with state law, which mirrors the federal UOCAVA timelines, and then past the beginning of October, we did NOT expect that so close to an election we would suddenly be required to comply.”

Cameron said the timing was a huge surprise and that in light of the already complicated elections due to the local races schedule and redistricting, she felt it was irresponsible.

That being said, Cameron did say that the county will do everything it can to make sure it complies with the federal requirements by November.

“We are doing everything we can to be ready, while still trying to ensure accurate and fair elections.  We are still trying to determine what all we can provide – it will not be everything that can be provided in time for next November’s elections, but we hope all the key election day voter material & ballot translations will be finished,” Cameron said. “We are also trying to shift election officers to maximize bilingual assistance in those polling places most likely in need of such assistance.  There will be back up phone translation service available anywhere there is a need that is not being met by a polling place election official.”

Asian-Indian languages added for first time

For the first time, three jurisdictions — Cook County, Ill., Los Angeles County and the Borough of Queens in New York — will be required to provide language assistance in an Asian-Indian language. What that language will be, remains a bit of a puzzle.

With more than 100 different dialects and languages that fall under “Asian-Indian,” which language will be required of each jurisdiction remains to be seen. The jurisdictions are working with officials from the Department of Justice to determine which languages — possibilities include Hindi, Pashto, Urdu and Bengali.

In Cook County, the Asian-Indian language designation was a bit of surprise. According to a spokeswoman with the clerk’s office, the elections division was anticipating a designation of Korean, not Asian-Indian.

The county’s election director is currently working with the Department of Justice to determine which Asian-Indian language the county will need to provide elections materials in and to determine which precincts need the language assistance.

“We have been doing Spanish and Chinese and Korean voluntarily,” explained Gail Siegel, a spokeswoman with the county clerk’s office. “We’re assuming it’s just going to be a few precincts, but we’re really at the beginning stages of this.”

The county, which has several staff members proficient in Asian-Indian languages and a full-time staff member dedicated to minority language work and community outreach, needs to be ready by the March 2012 primary.

Siegel said the county will work with local nonprofits and NGOs to do outreach and find any necessary volunteers, especially poll workers.

“We have already identified a number of community groups to do outreach to,” Siegel said. “Our minority language/community outreach person is already aggressively working on this.”

Siegel noted that while there will be some additional costs associated with the new language designation, because the county already has protocols in place for language-assistance, those additional costs will be minimal.

Jeannie Layson, a spokeswoman for the EAC was not sure at this time whether or not the agency would provide voter guides in the newly required languages.

“Expanding the language accessibility program is most likely a policy issue that should be determined by the commission,” Layson said. “Until we get a quorum, we cannot move forward with a program expansion.”

Lakota language assistance no longer required

While new Asian-Indian languages are being added for the first time, one American Indian language has disappeared from the list altogether. No longer will any jurisdictions have to provide language assistance in Lakota.

For South Dakota, which represented the largest number of covered jurisdictions, no longer falling under Section 203 provides a greater opportunity for local collaboration.

“I view the removal of federal oversight as less of a problem and more of an opportunity,” said Secretary of State Jason Gant. “Instead of expensive federal mandates, we will be working at the local level with tribal leaders to achieve local solutions while saving taxpayer dollars.”

Gant said that his office is working with counties and tribal leaders to ensure that even though South Dakota counties are no longer federally required to provide assistance that no one is disenfranchised.

“We have the opportunity to move past federal government solutions on federally mandated language requirements,” Gant said in a statement. “Working with South Dakota tribal leaders, we can find reasonable answers to ensure that Lakota speaking Native American voters – many of them elderly – are served by the electoral process with simplicity and dignity.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 


II. Election News This Week

  • This week, a federal judge in Florida dismissed a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against Gov. Rick Scott (R) and the Sunshine state’s new elections law. Judge K. Michael Moore ruled that the ACLU lacked standing to sue and that it’s too early to rule on whether the new law is unconstitutional. “We are disappointed that the court failed to address whether Florida can have two sets of election laws in different parts of the state” while the state law is considered by the federal court in Washington,” Derek Newton, ACLU Florida spokesman told the Palm Beach Post.
  • Four South Carolina counties are challenging the state’s January 21 GOP primary before the state Supreme Court. According to The Associated Press, the counties argue a 2008 primary law doesn’t apply to running a 2012 primary. They also argue the state election commission lacks the authority to conduct the primary, enter into a contract with the state political parties to hold the contest or require counties to cover expenses for the Republican primary. Officials from Beaufort, Chester, Greenville and Spartanburg counties say the primary will cost more than $2 million.
  • File this under “just when you think you’ve heard it all…” Officials in Tuscarawas County, Ohio are having a hard time finding enough poll workers for the upcoming November election and the reason isn’t exactly what you’d expect. It seems that a performance of “Mamma Mia” is being held on election night — beginning at 7:30p.m. which is the same time polls close — at a local branch of Kent State University. “We’ve had several people call off because of ‘Mamma Mia!’,” Barb Wills, a clerk with the elections board told the Times Reporter. “A lot of people didn’t realize when they bought their tickets that the show was on Election Night.”
  • Personnel News:Former Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson wants his job back and his thrown his hat in the ring for the 2012 election. Former Riverside County, Calif. Registrar Barbara Dunmore has a new job. Dunmore is the new assistant registrar of voters for El Dorado County. Linda Whalen and Shirley Privacky were recently appointed to the Muskegon County board of canvassers. Wesley Wilcox, assistant supervisor of elections for Marion County, Fla. was recently designated a Certified Elections/Registration Administrator by The Election Center. Christopher Tyll, a small-business owner and 13-year Navy veteran has been named to head the coalition seeking to defeat the people’s veto of Maine’s same-day voter registration initiative. Sedgwick County, Kan. election commissioner Bill Gale decided to term-limit himself announced this week that he would be resigning—due in part, Gale said to the new voting rules, including voter ID, being instituted in Kansas.

III. Research and Report Summaries:10pt; font-family:Arial;”>electionline provides brief summaries of recent research and reports in the field of election administration. Please e-mail links to research to :10pt; font-family:Arial;”>.

 

2010 Post Election Survey Report to Congress – Federal Voting Assistance Program, September 2011:Findings of this survey of military and overseas voters as well as local election officials about the November 2010 election include:

 

  • :115%; font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;”>A 21 percent increase in the unadjusted active duty military voter participation rate between 2006 and 2010. The report cites the passage of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act in 2009 and its requirement to send ballots out 45 days before Election Day and electronic delivery of blank ballots to voters as a possible reason for this increase.
  • :115%; font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;”>44 percent of jurisdictions did not start transmitting ballots until after 45 days prior to Election Day, although it is unclear if this deadline was missed or whether these jurisdictions received their first absentee ballot applications after the 45-day deadline.

 

Felon Voter Fraud Convictions Stemming from Minnesota’s 2008 General Election – Minnesota Majority, October 13, 2011:Minnesota Majority found 113 individuals who voted in the 2008 general election have been convicted of felon voter fraud – voting while ineligible due to their felony status. The report states that as many as 2,803 ineligible felons may have cast ballots in the 2008 general election, but this more limited number were convicted because state law requires an offender to have knowingly broken the law to be charged and convicted for voter fraud. Recommendations include changing procedures for Election Day registration to better detect ineligible voters.


IV. Opinions 

National:Voter ID; Blocking the vote

California:Instant-runoff voting, II; Bilingual voter guides

Colorado:Scott Gessler; Ballot access; Inactive voters

Florida:Voting Rights Act, II; Voter suppression; Voter access

Indiana:Charlie White, II, III

Kentucky:Secretary of state race

Maine:Ranked-choice voting; Same-day registration

Massachusetts:Voter ID

Michigan:No-excuse absentee voting

Mississippi:Voter ID, II, IV, V

New Hampshire:Secretary of state

New Jersey:Electronic voting machines; Paper trail

Oregon:Early voting

Pennsylvania:Voter ID, II; Electoral College

Texas:MOVE Act; Bilingual ballots

Virginia:Bilingual ballots

Wisconsin:Early primary; Electoral College


V. Job Openings

electionlineWeekly publishes election administration job postings each week as a free service to our readers. To have your job listed in the newsletter, please send a copy of the job description, including a web link to mmoretti@electionline.org. Job postings must be received by 5pm on Wednesday in order to appear in the Thursday newsletter. Listings will run for three weeks or till the deadline listed in the posting.

Associate Counsel for Voting Rights Project, The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law — seeking two bright and creative attorneys with organizing skills to serve as associate counsels.  Attorneys will work with the Voting Rights and Legal Mobilization Projects in implementing the Election Protection Program – the nation’s largest, non-partisan voter protection program which works year round to address barriers to the ballot box for traditionally disenfranchised voters.  The ideal candidates must be able to balance traditional legal with some organizing responsibilities.  Qualifications:Ideal candidates will be licensed attorneys in their first 4 years of practice.  Positions requires candidates who can work well under the pressure of a campaign-type environment, handle significant responsibility and make thoughtful decisions in short time periods.  Candidates will become proficient in identifying and addressing obstacles to the ballot box and work with pro bono legal networks in to identify legal issues and develop and implement solutions. Fluency in Spanish is a plus.  Extensive travel will be required.  Positions are temporary and will last from January 2012 to December 2012 with a possibility of continued employment. Application:Please send a letter of interest, resume and three references to Kathy Coates at Director, Registration and Elections, Fulton County, Ga.— Incumbent in this class performs duties related to directing the overall activities of the Department of Registration and Elections.  Responsibilities include overseeing elections administration, voter registration, absentee balloting, voter education and outreach, and support services and establishing the department’s mission, vision, goals, and objectives.  Qualifications:Bachelor’s degree in business or public administration, political science, organizational development, project management, social science or related field, 7 years of progressively responsible management experience in government administration, business administration, or a legal field involving interpretation of governmental laws, rules and statutes, including 3 years of elections experience and 5 years of supervisory experience. Valid Georgia driver’s license and proof of residency may be requested. Salary:$93,489-$151,455. Application:Online application is available at the county’s website. Completed forms will be accepted at the County Personnel Dept., 141 Pryor Street, Ste., 3030, Atlanta, Ga. 30303. Deadline:Nov. 21.