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Asian American Organizations to Monitor Sacramento and Alameda County's Bilingual Language Assistance During 2012 Elections
OAKLAND - On June 5, 2012, community volunteers will be monitoring polls throughout Sacramento and Alameda Counties to ensure that Asian American voters, regardless of English language ability, will have full and equal access to the ballot.
Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act requires jurisdictions to provide language assistance if the number of eligible voters qualifying for such assistance meets certain threshold numbers, as determined by the Census Bureau. The poll monitors will examine the availability of translated materials and oral assistance that is provided by the county governments.
For the first time, voters in Sacramento County will now have access to bilingual voting assistance in Chinese. In Alameda County, voters now will have access to bilingual voting assistance in Tagalog and Vietnamese, in addition to Chinese and Spanish.
"As one out of three Asian Americans is limited English proficient, language is often one of the strongest barriers preventing many new citizens from being able to fully participate in our democratic system," said Carlo De La Cruz, Voting Rights Coordinator at the Asian Law Caucus. "Since 2000, the Asian Law Caucus has been monitoring language assistance in the Bay Area to ensure that all voters can cast a vote on Election Day."
Alameda County is currently required to comply with specific instructions in carrying out its language assistance plans after the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Alameda County, alleging that it failed to provide effective access to the electoral process for Spanish and Chinese-speaking citizens. The DOJ brought a similar lawsuit in 1995, which also resulted in a settlement agreement.
ALC is working in partnership with its affiliates at the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice to conduct this voter protection project throughout the country. The effort in northern California is made possible by the assistance of the Filipino Advocates for Justice (Union City), Family Bridges (Oakland), Lao Family Community Development (Oakland), and Asian Resources (Sacramento).
Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sacramento Counties are required to provide bilingual voting assistance to Chinese and Spanish voters. Additionally, Alameda County will now join Santa Clara County in providing bilingual language assistance in Tagalog and Vietnamese.More information about Section 203 can be found at: www.advancingequality.org/section-203. The full list of Section 203-covered jurisdictions can be found atwww.census.gov/rdo/pdf/2011_26293.pdf. Voters who wish to receive translated voting materials should contact their Registrar of Voters.
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The Asian Law Caucus was founded in 1972 as the nation's first legal and civil rights Asian American organization. Recognizing that social, economic, political and racial inequalities continue to exist in the United States, ALC is committed to the pursuit of equality and justice for all sectors of our society, with a specific focus directed toward addressing the needs of low-income, immigrant and underserved Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Asian Law Caucus is a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. For more information, please visit http://asianlawcaucus.org. | 
