BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1814 HEARING DATE: 7/03/12
AUTHOR: ENG ANALYSIS BY: Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: 5/25/12
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Voter rights: language assistance
DESCRIPTION
Existing law requires elections officials to make
reasonable efforts to recruit election officials who are
fluent in a language if three percent or more of the voting
age residents in any precinct are fluent in that language
and lack sufficient skill in English to vote without
assistance.
Existing law requires, in counties where the Secretary of
State (SOS) has determined it is appropriate, each precinct
board to post, in a conspicuous location in the polling
place, at least one copy of the ballot with ballot measures
and ballot instructions printed in Spanish, and further
requires the ballot to be posted in other languages if a
significant and substantial need is found by the SOS.
Existing law provides that in determining whether it is
appropriate to require a county to post a copy of the
ballot at the precinct in a language other than English,
the SOS shall find a need to post such translated copies of
the ballot if the number of residents of voting age in the
precinct who are members of a single language minority and
who lack sufficient skills in English to vote without
assistance equals three percent or more of the voting age
residents in the precinct.
Existing federal law requires a state or a political
subdivision of a state to provide voting materials in the
language of a minority group when that group within the
jurisdiction has an illiteracy rate that is higher than the
national illiteracy rate, and the number of the United
States citizens of voting age in that single language group
within the jurisdiction meets at least one of the
following:
Numbers more than 10,000;
Makes up more than five percent of all voting age
citizens; or,
On an Indian reservation, exceeds five percent of all
reservation residents.
Existing federal law requires a state or political
subdivision of a state to provide voting materials in the
language of a minority group if all of the following apply:
Over five percent of the voting age citizens were,
on November 1, 1972, members of a single language
minority group;
Registration and election materials were provided
only in English on November 1, 1972; and,
Fewer than 50 percent of the voting age citizens
were registered to vote or voted in the 1972
Presidential election.
Existing federal law defines language minorities or
language minority groups, for the purposes of the above
provisions, to mean persons who are American Indian, Asian
American, Alaskan Natives, or of Spanish heritage.
This bill requires each county elections official to report
to the SOS regarding the county's compliance with federal
and state laws and regulations related to providing voters
with language assistance. Specifically, this bill :
1. Makes various findings and declarations about voter
participation among voters with limited English
proficiency.
2. Requires elections officials to make reasonable efforts
to recruit election officials who are fluent in a
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language for any precinct where the county is required
to post translated sample ballots in that language.
3. Requires elections officials, when selecting members of
a precinct board, to evaluate complaints filed against
precinct board members, and to excuse those who are
found to be unsatisfactory in carrying out their duties
in connection with the conduct of the election.
4. Requires every county to submit a report, not later
than August 1, 2015 and not later than August 1 of each
odd-numbered year thereafter, to the SOS describing the
county's plan for compliance with applicable federal and
state laws and regulations related to providing voters
with language assistance.
5. Requires the SOS to issue guidance for a uniform
standard report format that will enable each county to
comply with the requirements of this bill.
6. Requires the county to include all of the following
information in its plan:
a. The plans for providing translated
facsimile copies of ballots with ballot measures
and ballot instructions required to be made
available at polling places on election day;
b. The translated signage and ballot
materials to be provided to voters prior to
election day and at polling places;
c. The estimated number of bilingual
precinct board members necessary to meet the
language needs of voters with limited English
proficiency and the planned method to recruit a
sufficient number of bilingual precinct board
members;
d. The methodology of assigning bilingual
precinct board members to polling places,
including the process for determining the need
for bilingual voting assistance in additional
precincts to meet state and federal language
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assistance requirements;
e. A description of the training provided
to precinct board members to educate them about
compliance with federal and state voting rights
laws and regulations including the best
practices approach used to assist voters, and
any copies of precinct member training curricula
and handbooks;
f. The plans for conducting outreach to
and education of, voters with limited English
proficiency, including electoral activities, the
availability of translated materials and
bilingual assistance through the display of
public notices, the use of media outlets that
serve language minorities, and direct contact
with organizations that serve language minority
populations; and,
g. The plans for operating voter hotlines
that can adequately respond to telephone calls
from voters with limited English proficiency.
7. Requires the SOS to post all reports required by this
bill on his or her website not later than 90 days prior
to each statewide election held in an even-numbered
year.
8. Requires the SOS to consult with an advisory body
composed of members from voting rights organizations,
elections officials, and other groups to develop a list
of best practices by January 1, 2016, for implementing
all federal and state laws and regulations listed above
and for implementing the SOS's precinct board member
training standards. Further requires the SOS to make
these best practices available to elections officials in
a centralized repository and post those best practices
on his or her official website. Also, requires the SOS
to review biennially the best practices and determine
whether they need to be updated.
9. Provides that any county that is already required under
the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 to furnish ballots
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in languages other than English is not required to post
a facsimile ballot in those particular languages, and
requires the SOS, in those counties, to make
determinations and findings, as specified in existing
law, as to whether it is appropriate to post the
elections materials in Spanish or other languages, as
specified by this bill.
10. Allows interested citizens or organizations,
in addition to or instead of providing information to
the SOS about the need for language assistance in a
particular county or precinct, to provide such
information to a local elections official so that the
local elections official may determine whether it is
necessary to post a facsimile ballot at the polling
place in a language other than English.
11. Requires the SOS to make determinations and
findings, as specified in existing law, on whether it is
appropriate to post elections materials in Spanish or
other languages at each election year following an
adjustment of Congressional, State Senatorial, Assembly
and Board of Equalization districts boundary lines, as
specified by the California Constitution.
BACKGROUND
Voting Rights Act of 1965 : The 15th Amendment to the
United States Constitution provides, in part, "Ýt]he right
of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on
account of race, color, or previous condition of
servitude." Additionally, the 15th Amendment authorizes
Congress to enact legislation to enforce its provisions.
Congress determined that the existing federal
anti-discrimination laws were not sufficient to overcome
the resistance by state officials to enforce the 15th
Amendment. As a result, Congress passed and President
Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Act
provides, among other provisions, that "Ýn]o voting
qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard,
practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any
State or political subdivision to deny or abridge that
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right of any citizen of the United States to vote on
account of race or color."
In 1975, Congress adopted the language minority provisions
of Sections 4(f)(4) and 203 of the Voting Rights Act.
Congress extended these provisions in 1982, 1992, and 2006.
Sections 4(f)(4) and 203 of the Act require certain
jurisdictions with significant populations of voting age
citizens who belong to a language minority community to
provide voting materials in a language other than English.
These determinations are based on data from the most
recent Census.
Specifically, Sections 203 and 4(f)(4) require that when a
covered state of political subdivision "Ýp]rovides
registration or voting notices, forms, instructions,
assistance, or other materials of information relating to
the electoral process, including ballots, it shall provide
them in the language of the applicable minority group as
well as in the English language."
New Census Data : On October 13, 2011, the U.S. Census
Bureau released a notice of determination of minority
language status following the 2010 Census. Based on the
findings, several California counties will be required to
provide materials to voters in new or additional languages.
Pursuant to Section 203, the State of California is
required to provide bilingual voting assistance to Spanish
speakers. Additionally, pursuant to Section 203, 27 of
California's 58 counties are individually required to
provide bilingual voting assistance to Spanish speakers,
and eight counties (Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange,
Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa
Clara) are required to provide voting materials in at least
one language other than English and Spanish. Pursuant to
Section 4(f)(4) of the Act, three counties are required to
provide bilingual voting assistance to Spanish speakers,
though two of those counties are also required to provide
assistance pursuant to Section 203. In total, 28 of
California's 58 counties are required to provide voting
materials in at least one language other than English.
COMMENTS
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1. According to the author : AB 1814 would improve
compliance with our state and federal voting rights laws
by strengthening the Secretary of State's ability to
monitor the compliance of election officials in order to
mitigate barriers and facilitate the ability of limited
English-proficient and first time voters to participate
in California's democracy.
Specifically, this bill would require a county, not later
than August 1, 2015, and not later than August 1 of each
odd-numbered year thereafter, to submit a specified
report to the Secretary of State describing the county's
plan for compliance with state and federal laws enacted
to assist voters with limited English proficiency. The
bill would require the Secretary of State to post those
reports on his or her Internet Web site not later than
90 days prior to each statewide election held in an
even-numbered year, and would further require the
Secretary of State to issue guidance for a uniform
standard report format for this purpose. The bill would
also require a county elections official to evaluate
complaints filed against precinct board members and
would require the Secretary of State to develop a list
of the best practices for elections officials and for
precinct board member training.
The Federal Voting Rights Act outlines requirements that
help limited English proficient voters participate in
the democratic process. In addition, state law outlines
requirements for translated materials at polling sites
and bilingual poll workers. The Secretary of State has
the authority to require election officials to make
reports concerning elections in their jurisdictions and
assist election officials in discharging their duties.
When complied with, these laws facilitate the ability of
limited English proficient and first-time voters to
exercise their fundamental right to vote. For example,
Latino and Filipino American voter registration
increased by 21% in San Diego County, and Vietnamese
American registration increased by 37%, after the county
was brought into compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
Voters who lack English proficiency and/or new voters
require much attention, as gaps between the state's
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voting and non-voting population increases. Barriers to
voting such as complicated voting materials and
unfamiliar voting processes contribute significantly to
these gaps and pose challenges for the millions of
voters who are limited English proficient or new voters.
Poll monitors deployed by various organizations have
observed poll sites failing to meet their legal
requirements, resulting in voters being unable to
exercise their right to vote. For example, poll sites
have been found to: not provide translated voting
materials; not have bilingual poll workers; not have
trained poll workers; and fail to provide provisional
ballots. Without the assistance provided under voting
rights laws, limited English proficient citizens have
difficulty overcoming the barriers they face.
This proposal strengthens the Secretary of State's ability
to monitor the compliance of election officials with
various voting rights laws. This monitoring will ensure
that election officials have adequate plans for
providing language assistance and incorporate best
practices responding to the needs of limited English
proficient voters.
2. Standard for Bilingual Precinct Workers : Existing law
requires an elections official to make reasonable
efforts to recruit elections officials who are fluent in
a language if three percent or more of the voting age
residents in the precinct are fluent in that language
and lack sufficient skill in English to vote without
assistance. Additionally, existing law requires each
precinct board to post a copy of the ballot in a
language other than English at the polling place if the
SOS determines that the number of residents of voting
age in the precinct who are members of a single language
minority and who lack sufficient skills in English to
vote without assistance equals three percent or more of
the voting age residents in the precinct.
Although these two standards are similar, they are not
identical, which can lead to confusion and inconsistent
application. This bill would provide a single standard
by requiring the county elections official to make
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reasonable efforts to recruit elections officials who
are fluent in a language for a precinct whenever the SOS
determines that the precinct must post a copy of the
ballot in that language.
3. Previous Legislation : AB 299 (Eng) of 2011, was
substantially similar to this bill, but was never heard
in the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee.
AB 614 (Eng) of 2007, which was substantially similar to
this bill, was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. In
his veto message, the Governor wrote, "current law
requires elected officials to provide language
assistance to voters with limited English proficiency.
This bill would require local elected officials to
report on their compliance with current law on a
standard form to be developed by the Secretary of State.
Such a report would be of limited value and would place
an unnecessary strain on the state's limited resources."
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 4-2
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 12-5
Assembly Floor: 52-26
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Chinese American Citizens Alliance - Los Angeles
Lodge
Support: Chinese American Citizens Alliance
American Civil Liberties Union of California
(ACLU)
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
AnewAmerica Community Corporation
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian & Pacific Islanders California Action
Network
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Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)
Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs
Association (APAPA)
Asian Law Alliance
Asian Law Caucus
California Immigrant Policy Center
Chinese American Citizens Alliance, Grand Lodge
Chinese American Citizens Alliance, San Francisco
Lodge
Chinese American Council of Sacramento (CACS)
Congresswoman Judy Chu
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los
Angeles (CHIRLA)
Common Cause
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
(CAPAC)
The Greenlining Institute
J-Sei
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) Northern
CA-Western Nevada-Pacific District
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) Pacific
Southwest
District
Lao Lu Mien Culture Association, Inc.
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
(MALDEF)
Mental Health America of Northern California
Merced LAO Family Community, Inc.
Mobilize the Immigrant Vote (MIV)
Self-Help for the Elderly
Tongan community Service Center
Four individuals
Oppose: None received
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