Hollister
– The Department of Justice recently announced that San Benito
County has successfully addressed concerns that it wasn’t providing
enough support to Spanish-speaking voters.
Hollister – The Department of Justice recently announced that San Benito County has successfully addressed concerns that it wasn’t providing enough support to Spanish-speaking voters.
The expiration of the consent decree between the county and the DOJ marks the end of a 30-month period during which San Benito had to substantially expand support for bilingual voters. During that time, every election was monitored by DOJ observers. If the county had failed to meet the terms of the decree, the DOJ could have taken it to court.
Many of the complaints were originally voiced by the local League of United Latin American Citizens. LULAC president Mickie Luna said many Latino voters gave up on voting because of the lack of bilingual support and cultural sensitivity. That’s been changing, Luna said, due in part to the county’s efforts.
“We’re happy with how things have gone so far, but we will continue to monitor,” Luna said.
Although the DOJ could have extended the decree, it chose instead to allow the agreement to expire. In a letter to the county, DOJ attorney Bert Russ commended San Benito for its “impressive and laudable progress.”
The DOJ filed a lawsuit against the county in 2004, alleging that the elections office had violated the Help America Vote Act and the Voting Rights Act. The suit criticized the county for failing to provide enough bilingual poll workers, Spanish election materials and necessary information about provisional ballots.
To resolve the suit, the federal government and the county agreed on a consent decree that required San Benito’s election office to make specific improvements.
Russ noted that San Benito actually exceeded the guidelines. The DOJ required the county to hire at least 43 bilingual poll workers – there were only nine in November of 2002 – but the county went above and beyond, hiring 59 bilingual workers in June 2006 and 54 in November.
County Finance Director Joe Paul Gonzalez – who, as the incoming county clerk, has been increasingly involved in running recent elections – said he wasn’t surprised by the decision.
“The DOJ felt the progress made involved structural changes, changes that were not by any means temporary,” Gonzalez said.
The county has pledged to continue employing a bilingual program coordinator, consulting with an advisory group and ensuring that all written election materials are provided in Spanish.
“The county gained a lot from the decree,” outgoing County Clerk John Hodges said. “It gave us the tools we needed.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
