With campaigns for the presidential election grabbing national
headlines across the country, county supervisors need to remember
San Benito has its own share of election problems to overcome
before voters head to the ballot box in November. And the clock is
ticking.
With campaigns for the presidential election grabbing national headlines across the country, county supervisors need to remember San Benito has its own share of election problems to overcome before voters head to the ballot box in November. And the clock is ticking.
Civil rights inspectors observed election booths in the county during the March 2 election and had less than glowing reviews about how San Benito conducted the election. The inspectors’ observations became part of a federal lawsuit against the county alleging key procedures established by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 were not adhered to.
Essentially, the suit alleges the county failed to provide registration forms in Spanish, bilingual ballots, adequate assistance from Spanish-speaking poll workers, volunteer Spanish training, bilingual signs at the polls and information on voting rights.
The county has taken some steps to solve the problems such as raising poll worker pay by approximately 60 percent to attract about 30 additional Spanish-speaking workers to man the election booths. However, the county still needs to find a bilingual election coordinator – a move they stalled on during a meeting in June.
The bilingual coordinator is one of the most important mandates handed down by the Department of Justice, and filling the position as soon as possible should be of the utmost concern to county supervisors. It means the county should leave no stone unturned in its search for the new position and, if need be, conduct a region-wide search if local applicants are not qualified.
Obviously such a specialized position will require more effort to find qualified candidates, but the county is running out of time and the situation is growing more desperate with each passing week. The county Web site has the job listed with a salary range $2,978- $3,802 per month and a deadline of July 30 to apply. Officials said they plan to begin interviews in early August.
Regardless of when interviews begin, San Benito needs to fill this position immediately. Simply hiring a bilingual coordinator will accomplish little if they have no time to review the system and implement changes by the November election.
Considering less than half of the residents of California voted in the last presidential election, any measure local government can take to make voting easier is desperately needed. In San Benito County, where 47.9 percent of residents are of Hispanic descent and 37.8 percent of households speak a language other than English at home according to the 2000 census, providing ballots in Spanish isn’t just a good idea, it’s absolutely essential to bring local voters to the polls.
To respond to this editorial or comment on this issue, please send or bring letters to Editor, Hollister Free Lance, 350 Sixth St., Hollister, Calif. 95023 e-mail to [email protected].
