BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1443|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1443
Author: Chau (D)
Amended: 8/17/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 4-0, 6/30/15
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Hertzberg, Liu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Voters: language accessibility
SOURCE: Secretary of State Alex Padilla
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed
Officials
DIGEST: This bill requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to
establish a Language Accessibility Advisory Committee, as
specified.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law:
1)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
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single language group within the jurisdiction meets at least
one of the following:
a) Numbers more than 10,000;
b) Makes up more than five percent of all voting age
citizens; or,
c) On an Indian reservation, exceeds five percent of all
reservation residents.
2)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:
a) Over five percent of the voting age citizens were, on
November 1, 1972, members of a single language minority
group;
b) Registration and election materials were provided only
in English on November 1, 1972; and,
c) Fewer than 50 percent of the voting age citizens were
registered to vote or voted in the 1972 Presidential
election.
3)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.
Existing state law:
1)Establishes the SOS as the chief elections officer of the
state and requires that he or she ensure elections are
efficiently conducted and that state election laws are
enforced.
2)Declares the intent of the Legislature that
non-English-speaking citizens, like other citizens, should be
encouraged to vote and that appropriate efforts should be made
to minimize obstacles to voting by citizens who lack
sufficient skill in English to vote without assistance.
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3)Requires the SOS, by January 1 of each year in which the
Governor is elected, to determine the precincts where three
percent or more of the voting age residents are members of a
single language minority and lack sufficient skills in English
to vote without assistance. For each specified precinct in
their county, elections officials are required to do the
following:
a) Translate a facsimile ballot and related instructions in
the specified language(s); and,
b) Post the translation(s) in a conspicuous location in the
appropriate polling place.
4)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.
5)Requires, in counties where the 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. Requires the ballot to be posted in other languages
if a significant and substantial need is found by the SOS.
6)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.
This bill:
1)Requires the SOS to establish a Language Accessibility
Advisory Committee of no less than 15 members consisting of
the SOS and his or her designee or designees and additional
members appointed by the SOS.
2)Requires the appointees to have demonstrated language
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accessibility experience, have knowledge of presenting
election materials to voters using plain language methods or
another method that is easy for voters to access and
understand, or be a county elections official or his or her
designee. At least three county elections officials shall be
appointed to the committee.
3)Requires the SOS to consult with and consider the
recommendations of the committee.
4)Requires the committee to serve in an advisory capacity to the
SOS and to meet no less than four times each calendar year.
Background
Voting Rights Act of 1965. The 15th Amendment to the United
States Constitution provides, in part, "[t]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 (VRA). The VRA provides, among other
provisions, that "[n]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 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 VRA. Congress extended these
provisions in 1982, 1992, and 2006. Sections 4(f)(4) and 203 of
the VRA 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
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Census. Specifically, Sections 203 and 4(f)(4) require that
when a covered state or political subdivision "[p]rovides
registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance,
or other materials or 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. 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. In total, 28 of California's 58 counties
are required to provide voting materials in at least one
language other than English.
In addition, existing state law requires the SOS, in each
gubernatorial election year, to determine the precincts where
three percent or more of the voting age residents are members of
a single language minority and lack sufficient skills in English
to vote without assistance. According to a December 30, 2013
memo from the SOS's office, the SOS contracted with U.C.
Berkeley to determine which precincts have reached the three
percent threshold in the nine languages covered in California
under federal law (Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer,
Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese).
According to the memo, based on the analysis data, the SOS has
determined that most counties show an increase in the number of
precincts with individuals who speak the nine languages that are
covered. Depending on the data, the county elections officials
will be required to translate a copy of the ballot and related
instructions into the languages indicated and post them at the
appropriate polling places.
Below is a breakdown of the counties that have additional
languages required under state law (new languages are indicated
in italics). According to the SOS's memo, these requirements
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will remain in place through December 31, 2017.
Statewide: Spanish
Alameda: Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Hindi, Japanese,
Khmer, Korean
Alpine: None
Amador: Spanish
Butte: Spanish
Calaveras: Spanish
Colusa: Spanish
Contra Costa: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Japanese, Korean,
Vietnamese
Del Norte: Spanish
El Dorado: Spanish, Tagalog
Fresno: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Khmer
Glenn: Spanish
Humboldt: Spanish
Imperial: Spanish
Inyo: Spanish
Kern: Spanish, Tagalog
Kings: Spanish, Tagalog
Lake: Spanish
Lassen: Spanish
Los Angeles: Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean,
Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese
Madera: Spanish
Marin: Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese
Mariposa: Spanish
Mendocino: Spanish, Chinese
Merced: Spanish
Modoc: Spanish
Mono: Spanish
Monterey: Spanish, Korean, Tagalog, Chinese, Vietnamese
Napa: Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese
Nevada: Spanish
Orange: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese,
Khmer
Placer: Spanish, Tagalog
Plumas: Spanish
Riverside: Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese
Sacramento: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Hindi,
Japanese, Korean
San Benito: Spanish
San Bernardino: Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Khmer
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San Diego: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Tagalog,
Vietnamese, Khmer,
Korean, Hindi
San Francisco: Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese,
Japanese
San Joaquin: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Khmer, Hindi
San Luis Obispo: Spanish, Tagalog
San Mateo: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Tagalog, Hindi
Santa Barbara: Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese
Santa Clara: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog,
Vietnamese, Hindi,
Khmer
Santa Cruz: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog
Shasta: Spanish
Sierra: Spanish
Siskiyou: Spanish
Solano: Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese
Sonoma: Spanish
Stanislaus: Spanish, Hindi, Khmer
Sutter: Spanish, Hindi
Tehama: Spanish
Trinity: Spanish
Tulare: Spanish, Tagalog
Tuolumne: Spanish
Ventura: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Hindi
Yolo: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Hindi
Yuba: Spanish
Comments
1)According to the author, nearly 16 million California voters
receive materials in a variety of required primary languages
such as Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean,
Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. Language accessible elections
materials may include registration forms, voting notices,
voting instructions, ballots, sample ballots, polling place
notices, and voter information pamphlets. AB 1443 establishes
in the Office of the Secretary of State a committee of
appointed specialists to advise state and local elections
officials on best practices to address language accessibility
needs of voters.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/17/15)
Secretary of State Alex Padilla (co-source)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles (co-source)
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
(co-source)
Advancement Project
American Civil Liberties Union
California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials
California Immigrant Policy Center
Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment
League of Women Voters of California
The Greenlining Institute
Voz Interpreting
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/17/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15
AYES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla,
Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Jones, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron,
Weber
Prepared by:Darren Chesin / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106
AB 1443
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8/19/15 20:59:07
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