Florida Department of State 1 Kurt S. Browning Secretary of State Dr. Gisela Salas Director, Division of Elections Presented by: Maria Matthews, Assistant General Counsel Office of General Counsel, Department of State Telephone: June 23, 2011 (as revised post-conference)

Language Minority Requirements 2

 Adopted in 1965 (amended in 1970, 1975, 1982, 1992, and in 2006 extended to 2032) (Public Law )  Gave effect to 15 th Amendment  “No person shall be denied the right to vote on account of race or color”  Created extraordinary enforcement remedies 3

 At least two ways in which a jurisdiction may be designated and required to provide bi- lingual or multi-lingual election material/assistance Section 4(f)(4) designation Section 203 designation 4

Jurisdiction MUST PROVIDE: Registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance in the language of the applicable minority group (if there is written language) Other election materials or information (e.g., sample, regular, absentee, provisional ballots, notices, candidate qualifying forms, instructional forms in the language of the applicable minority group) Bi-lingual election staff and poll worker(s) available to communicate 5

 Applicable to all elections within the boundary of the designated/covered jurisdiction  primary, general, bond, referenda, municipal, school district, special purpose district, etc. 6

 More than 5% of the voting age citizens were single language minority group on November 1, 1972  Registration and election materials were only available in English on November 1, 1972, and 1973)  Less than 50% of the voting age citizens were registered to vote or voted in the 1972 Presidential Election. 7

 Collier County (Hispanic, American Indian-Mikasuki/Seminole])  Hardee County (Hispanic)  Hendry County (Hispanic; American Indian [Mikasuki/Seminole, Muskogee])  Hillsborough County (Hispanic)  Monroe County (Hispanic) Fixed historical group-Requires bi-lingual materials and preclearance for voting/registration related law 8

Designated by Director of U.S. Census Bureau  Based U.S. Census Survey population/ethnic/literacy data using 1 of 4 formulas  Every 10 years  Designation in effect until threshold no longer met 9

 More than 5% of political subdivision’s voting age citizens are members of single language minority group and have limited-English proficiency, and  Illiteracy rate higher than national rate. Provide bi-lingual information/assistance/material DOJ enforces continuous compliance No preclearance required of voting/registration law 10

 5% of state’s voting age citizens and  More than 5% of political subdivision’s voting age citizens are each members of single language minority group and have limited-English proficiency. Provide bi-lingual information/assistance/material DOJ enforces continuous compliance No preclearance required of voting/registration law 11

 More than 10,000 of political subdivision’s voting age citizens are members of single language minority group and have limited-English proficiency, and  Illiteracy rate exceeds national rate. Provide bi-lingual information/assistance/material DOJ enforces continuous compliance No preclearance required of voting/registration law 12

 Political subdivision has within its borders all or part of an Indian reservation with m ore than 5% of American Indian or Alaska Native citizens as members of single language minority and with limited-English proficiency, and illiteracy rate exceeds national rate. Provide bi-lingual information/assistance/material DOJ enforces continuous compliance No preclearance required of voting/registration law 13

 Limited-English proficiency is defined as speaking or understanding English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process.  Illiteracy is defined as failure to complete 5 th primary grade.  Indian reservation is defined as any area that is an American Indian or Alaska Native area as defined by the Census Bureau in the 1990 decennial census. 14

 Broward County (Hispanic, Amer. Indian [Mikasuki/Seminole, Muskogee])  Collier County* (Hispanic, Amer. Indian [Mikasuki/Seminole])  Glades County (Amer. Indian [Mikasuki/Seminole])  Hardee County * (Hispanic)  Hendry County* (Amer. Indian [Mikasuki/Seminole, Muskogee])  Miami-Dade County (Amer. Indian [Mikasuki/Seminole Hispanic)  Orange County (Hispanic) * Also a covered jurisdiction under section 4(f)(4) 15

 Osceola County: Consent order based on 2002 law suit for alleged discriminatory practices against limited-English proficient Hispanics. See ss. 2 & 208, VRA  Volusia County: Consent order based on 2009 lawsuit. Volusia could not condition right to vote on ability to read, write, understand or interpret only English for Puerto-Rican born residents who were educated in American Schools in PR where Spanish was dominant language. See s. 2, VRA & 42 U.S.C. S. 1973b(e)1 16

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 When will new designations be made? Late summer/early fall U.S. Census Bureau has not completed data analysis of number of U.S. citizens for an ethnic group within the voting age population or the corresponding illiteracy rate for that group in a jurisdiction. 18

 How will it be made? U.S. Census Bureau Director makes designations based on 2010 self-reported census survey data and publishes designations in federal register.  Who will notify me? U.S. Department of Justice/Civil Rights Division mails formal notices and details compliance requirements. 19

 What to do in the meantime? If you think you might designated, start acting like one: 1. Review (if not already) early released census data. Note that available data only refers to voting age population by ethnic group for entire state and for each county (no breakout by citizenship status or literacy). See interactive map at:

2. Budget for possibility 3. Reach out to currently covered Section 203 counties* for guidance (e.g., how did they prepare for anticipated designation, for what did they budget, what do they now have to do, lessons learned, best practices, how to avoid DOJ issues, etc.) * Broward County (Hispanic /American Indian), Glades County (American Indian), Miami-Dade County (Hispanic/American Indian), and Orange County (Hispanic) 21

4. Review U.S. DOJ’s online guides: Language minority guidelines at: Plain language brochure on compliance at: Conduct outreach to minority language community (social, fraternal and religious organizations, senior citizen groups, labor groups, educators, business leaders, etc.) 22

6. Be sure contracts for election services on your behalf include requirement to abide by bi-lingual requirement as if the service provider were you 7. Make election information available to the same extent and regularity in minority language as in English 8. Provide accurate translations (consult with trained translators but allow input from community members fluent in minority language for commonly used terms) 23

9. Provide language assistance (recruit, hire or assign election officials who are able to understand, speak, and if applicable, read and/or write fluently in minority language) at office and at polls 10. Designate a minority language coordinator 24

All election information, materials, and assistance that is available in English must also be available in the minority language. DOJ will retain enforcement oversight for compliance with bi-lingual requirements of Section 4(f)(4) and Section 203 counties, or counties under consent orders for Section 2 VRA violations. Only Section 4(f)(4) counties also require preclearance 25