Bill Text: CA AB1814 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Voting rights: language assistance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-08-16 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB1814 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB1814-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1814 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 25, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eng
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Ammiano, Wieckowski, and Williams
)
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
An act to amend Sections 12303 and 14201 of, to add Section 12317
to, and to add Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 12400) to Division
12 of, the Elections Code, relating to voting rights.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1814, as amended, Eng. Voting rights: language assistance.
(1) Existing state and federal laws, including the Voting Rights
Act of 1965, require elections officials to provide language
assistance to voters with limited English proficiency in order to
access voting information and cast their votes at the polling place.
Existing law also requires elections officials, under specified
circumstances, to make reasonable efforts to recruit elections
officials who are fluent in a language used by citizens who lack
sufficient skill in English to vote without assistance.
This bill would revise the recruitment provisions to apply to
precincts in which the precinct board is required to post translated
facsimile ballots and would require a county, not later than
120 days before the first statewide election held in each
even-numbered year 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 that includes, at a minimum, specified information that sets
forth the county's plan for protecting the rights of voters with
limited English proficiency. By increasing the duties of local
elections officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
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, as specified. The Secretary of State would also be required
to consult with an advisory body composed of specified members for
this purpose.
(2) Under existing law, in counties where the Secretary of State
has determined that it is appropriate, each precinct board is
required to 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. Existing law also requires
the Secretary of State, in determining whether it is appropriate to
post the election materials in Spanish or other languages, to
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 based on a
specified formula or information provided by interested citizens or
organizations. Existing law also requires the Secretary of State to
make these determinations and findings by January 1 of each year in
which the Governor is elected.
This bill would provide that interested citizens or organizations
may, alternatively, provide this information to the local elections
official and would require the Secretary of State to make these
determinations and findings not less frequently than by January 1 of
each year in which the Governor is elected and each year following an
adjustment of district boundary lines pursuant to Article XXI of the
California Constitution and specified provisions of the Elections
Code. The bill would apply these provisions to new precincts.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
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) No person who cannot read or write the English
language is 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 voting by citizens who lack sufficient skill in English to vote
without assistance.
(c) In 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 shall make reasonable efforts to
recruit elections officials who are fluent in 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, and television, particularly those media that
serve the non-English-speaking citizens described in subdivision (b).
(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,
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
120 days prior to the first statewide election held in each
even-numbered year, as set forth in Section 1001 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. Not later than 120 days prior to each subsequent
statewide election held in an even-numbered year, each county shall
submit an update detailing material changes to the plan it submitted
for the first election of that year. Federal and state laws and
regulations to be addressed by the plan include, but are not limited
to, all of the following:
(1) Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) and Section 4(f)(4) (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965,
and the regulations issued by the United States Department of Justice
(28 C.F.R. 55.1 to 55.21, inclusive).
(2) Federal Help America Vote Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 15301 et seq.).
(3) Section 12303.
(4) Section 14201.
(b) The Secretary of
State shall issue guidance for a uniform standard report format that
will enable each county to comply with this section to report the
county's plan for protecting the rights of voters with limited
English proficiency. A assistance. A county
shall , at a minimum, 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 annually 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.
(b) In counties where the Secretary of State has determined that
it is appropriate, 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. 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 posted in the same manner if a significant and
substantial need is found by the Secretary of State.
(c) In determining whether it is appropriate to 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
residents of a particular county or precinct, or 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 post at least 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.
(d) (1) The Secretary of State shall make the determinations and
findings set forth in subdivisions (b) and (c) not less frequently
than by January 1 of each year in which the Governor is 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).
(2) In 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.
(e) In those precincts where ballots printed in a language other
than 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.
(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.
