Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1814 Voting rights: language assistance.(2011-2012)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California is seeing an increasing gap between the state’s voting and nonvoting populations. Barriers to voting, such as complicated voting materials and unfamiliar voting procedures, contribute significantly to this gap. In California, there are millions of voters with limited English proficiency. Large numbers of voters continue to be first-time voters who are unfamiliar with the voting process.
(b) Federal and state laws require elections officials to provide bilingual voting assistance to these voters, and some cities and counties in California with substantial concentrations of language minorities are subject to federal court decrees pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 et seq.) that require them to provide additional language assistance and translated voting materials. These voting rights laws help the ability of voters with limited English proficiency and first-time voters to overcome barriers to voting.
(c) While the vast majority of precinct board members are committed to serving voters on election day, poll monitoring efforts by various organizations have observed a lack of compliance or misapplication of federal and state laws relating to voting rights. Poll monitors have observed polling places failing to provide the required translated voting materials, not having bilingual precinct board members, and failing to provide provisional ballots. As a result of these failures, voters are unable to exercise their right to vote.
(d) The Secretary of State has the authority, pursuant to Section 12172.5 of the Government Code, to require elections officials to make reports concerning elections in their jurisdictions and assist elections officials in discharging their duties.
(e) Increasing compliance with federal and state voting rights laws, and implementing a best practices approach to precinct board member training, will facilitate the ability of voters with limited English proficiency and first-time voters to participate in California’s democracy.

SEC. 2.

 Section 12303 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

12303.
 (a) A No  person who cannot read or write the English language is not  eligible to act as a member of any precinct board.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that non-English-speaking citizens, like all other citizens, should be encouraged to vote. Therefore, appropriate efforts should be made to minimize obstacles to non-English-speaking citizens voting  voting by citizens who lack sufficient skill in English to vote  without assistance.
(c) (1) In  Where the elections official finds that citizens described in subdivision (b) approximate 3 percent or more of the voting-age residents of a precinct, or if interested citizens or organizations provided information that   precincts in which the precinct board is required to post translated facsimile ballots in accordance with the determinations and findings made by the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 14201,  the elections official believes indicates a need for voting assistance for qualified citizens described in subdivision (b), the elections official  shall make reasonable efforts to recruit elections officials who are fluent in a language used by citizens described in subdivision (b) and in English.  the determined language or languages.  This recruitment shall be conducted through the cooperation of interested citizens and organizations and through voluntarily donated public service notices in the media, including newspapers, radio, television,  and the internet,  television,  particularly those media that serve the non-English-speaking citizens described in subdivision (b).
(2) (A) Within 150 days following each statewide general election, the county elections official shall report to the Secretary of State the number of individuals recruited to serve as members of precinct boards, including the number of individuals recruited who are fluent in each language required to be represented under Section 14201 and Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.). The Secretary of State shall issue uniform standard reporting guidelines.
(B) The Secretary of State shall post all county reports received under subparagraph (A) on the Secretary of State’s internet website within 180 days following each statewide general election.
(3) At each polling place, a member of the precinct board shall identify the languages spoken by the member, other than English, by wearing a name tag, button, sticker, lanyard, or other mechanism, as determined by the county elections official. The text indicating the language skills of the member of the precinct board shall be in the non-English language or languages spoken by that member.
(d) At least 14 days before an election, the elections official shall prepare and make available to the public a list of the precincts to which officials were appointed pursuant to this section, including on the county elections official’s internet website,  and the language or languages other than English in which they will provide assistance.

SEC. 3.

 Section 12317 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

12317.
 In selecting the members of the precinct board, the elections official shall evaluate complaints filed against precinct board members, and shall excuse those who are found to be unsatisfactory in carrying out their duties in connection with the conduct of the election.

SEC. 4.

 Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 12400) is added to Division 12 of the Elections Code, to read:

CHAPTER  5. Language Assistance
12400.
 (a) Each county shall submit a report not later than August 1, 2015, and not later than August 1 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, to the Secretary of State describing the county’s plan for compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations related to providing voters with language
assistance. A county shall include all of the following information in its plan:
(1) 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 pursuant to Section 14201.
(2) The translated signage and ballot materials to be provided to voters prior to election day and at polling places.
(3) 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.
(4) 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 assistance requirements.
(5) A description of the training provided to precinct board members to educate them about compliance with federal and state voting rights laws and regulations and the best practices approach used to assist voters with limited English proficiency, voters with disabilities, and first-time voters, including any draft copies of precinct member training curricula and handbooks.
(6) 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.
(7) The plans for operating voter hotlines that can adequately respond to telephone calls from voters with limited English proficiency.
(c) Not later than 90 days prior to each statewide election held in an even-numbered year, the Secretary of State shall post on his or her Internet Web site all reports received pursuant to this section.
(d) The Secretary of State shall 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, that elections officials can follow to help them implement the laws referenced in subdivision (a) and implement the Secretary of State’s precinct board member training standards issued pursuant to Section 12309.5.
(e) The Secretary of State shall make the best practices developed pursuant to subdivision (d) available to elections officials in a centralized repository and shall post this information on the Secretary of State’s Internet Web site. The Secretary of State shall review the best practices biennially to determine whether they need to be updated.

SEC. 5.

 Section 14201 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

14201.
 (a) (1) The precinct board shall post, in a conspicuous location in the polling place, at least one facsimile copy of the ballot with the ballot measures and ballot instructions printed in Spanish. Facsimile ballots shall also be printed in other languages and posted in the same manner if a significant and substantial need is found by the elections official.
(2) In those counties that are required under the provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as extended by Public Law 94-73, to furnish ballots in other than the English language, the posting of the facsimile ballot in that particular language shall not be required. However, the Secretary of State shall still make the determinations and findings set forth in subdivision (c) for the languages in those counties.
(3) This subdivision shall remain in effect until the Secretary of State makes the determinations and findings required by this section.
(a) (b)  In counties and precincts  where the Secretary of State has determined that it is appropriate, the county elections official shall provide facsimile copies of the ballot, as described in subdivision (b),  each precinct board shall post, in a conspicuous location in the polling place, at least one facsimile copy of the ballot  with the ballot measures and ballot instructions printed in Spanish, one of which shall be posted in a conspicuous location in the polling place and at least one of which shall be made available for voters at the polling place to use as a reference when casting a private ballot.  Spanish. If the Secretary of State determines that it is appropriate to post the election materials in Spanish in only certain precincts in the county, the material shall be posted in the polling places situated in those precincts.  Facsimile ballots shall also be printed in other languages and provided posted  in the same manner if a significant and substantial need is found by the Secretary of State. A facsimile copy of the ballot available for voters to use in casting a private ballot shall be sufficiently distinct in appearance from a regular ballot to prevent voters from attempting to vote on the facsimile copy. 
(b) (c)  (1)  In determining if whether  it is appropriate to provide post  the election materials in Spanish or other languages, the Secretary of State shall determine the number of residents of voting age in each county and precinct who are members of a single language minority, and who lack sufficient skills in English to vote without assistance. If the number of these residents equals 3 percent or more of the voting-age  voting age  residents of a particular county or precinct, or if  in the event that  interested citizens or organizations provide the Secretary of State or the local elections official  with information that gives the Secretary of State or the local elections official  sufficient reason to believe there is  a need for the furnishing of facsimile ballots, the Secretary of State shall find a need to provide post  at least two facsimile copies  one facsimile copy of the ballot  with the ballot measures and ballot instructions printed in Spanish or other applicable language in the affected polling places.
(2) If the Secretary of State determines that the number of voting-age residents in a precinct who are members of a single language minority and who lack sufficient skills in English to vote without assistance exceeds 20 percent of the voting-age residents in that precinct, the county elections official shall provide at least four facsimile copies of the ballot in the language of that language minority, one of which shall be posted in a conspicuous location in the polling place and at least three of which shall be made available for voters at the polling place to use as a reference when casting a private ballot.
(c) (1) In polling places where facsimile copies of the ballot are necessary, members of the precinct boards shall be trained on the purpose and proper handling of the facsimile copies of the ballot and shall be prepared to inform voters of the existence of the facsimile copies of the ballot, as appropriate.
(2) If a voter requests a facsimile copy of a ballot that is available in the voter’s language of preference pursuant to subdivision (a), a member of the precinct board shall provide the facsimile copy of the ballot to the voter.
(3) In polling places where facsimile copies of the ballot are necessary, a sign near the roster shall inform voters of the existence of the facsimile copies of the ballot. The sign shall be in English and in the language or languages of the facsimile copies available in that polling place.
(d) At least 14 days before an election, the county elections official shall provide information on the county elections internet website identifying all polling places in the county and the languages of facsimile copies of the ballot that will be available to voters at each polling place. Explanatory information pertaining to the list of polling places, but not the list itself, shall be available in all languages in which the county provides facsimile copies of the ballot.
(e) The county elections official shall include text in the county voter information guide that refers voters with language needs to the portion of the county elections internet website containing the information specified in subdivision (d). The text shall be in all languages in which the county provides facsimile copies of the ballot.
(f) (d)  (1)    The Secretary of State shall make the determinations and findings set forth in subdivisions (a) and (b)  (b) and (c) not less frequently than  by January 1 of each year in which the Governor is elected. elected and each election year following an adjustment of district boundary lines pursuant to Article XXI of the California Constitution and Division 21 (commencing with Section 21000). 
(g) (2)  (1) In  A county elections official shall not be required to provide facsimile copies of the ballot in a particular language if the county elections official is required to provide translated ballots in that language pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).  the event that precinct boundary lines are changed or altered subsequent to the determinations and findings made pursuant to paragraph (1), the duties required under subdivision (b) shall apply to any newly drawn precinct that contains all or part of the area of a precinct that was originally included in the determinations and findings made by the Secretary of State. 
(2) (e)  In a polling place where a county elections official is required pursuant to subdivision (a) to provide a facsimile copy of the ballot  those precincts where ballots printed  in a language other than English, the county elections official may instead provide voters with a ballot translated into that language. A county elections official who provides and publicizes translated ballots in the same manner as translated ballots provided and publicized pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), in lieu of providing facsimile copies of the ballot in any language required under subdivision (a), need not comply with subdivisions (c), (d), and (e) as pertaining to that language. English are available for use by the voters at the polls, the posting of a facsimile ballot in that particular language shall not be required. 
(h) (f)  It is the intent of the Legislature that non-English-speaking citizens, like all other citizens, should be encouraged to vote. Therefore, appropriate efforts should be made on a statewide basis to minimize obstacles to voting by citizens who lack sufficient skill in English to vote without assistance.
SEC. 6.
  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.