An election must be accessible to all those who want to vote and are qualified to do so. But for Spanish-speaking voters, it appears casting a ballot in San Benito County isn’t as easy as required by law.
That’s why it’s good news the county Elections Office has promised to make a number of changes to bring itself up to speed and better serve Spanish-speaking voters.
This week, officials quickly agreed to follow the changes outlined in a Department of Justice lawsuit against the county to resolve inadequacies in providing election material. Among other changes, the county has promised to provide ballots and voter registration material in English and Spanish, to employ 44 Spanish-speaking poll workers and to investigate all complaints of hostility toward Spanish-speaking voters by the November election.
The suit came down after the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) drew attention to deficiencies in the San Benito County voting system. As a result, the Department of Justice monitored the March election and claimed that the Elections Office didn’t follow all the requirements outlined in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. LULAC is to be commended for their efforts to ensure everyone has access to the polls.
LULAC officials also promised to keep an eye on the changes to ensure they are made for the November election. Good. All elections are important, but this year there will be a runoff for the District 2 supervisor seat, three City Council races and the presidential election.
No one who wants to voice his or her opinion should leave the polls without voting because they can’t understand the ballot questions.
It appears top elections official John Hodges is willing to do whatever it takes to bring the county into compliance.
“I will have everything in English and Spanish in November,” he said. “I welcome all the help I can get.”
We encourage the San Benito County Board of Supervisors to give Hodges the financial support he needs to make the changes, and we encourage LULAC to pitch in by sending out messages that will help recruit the 44 bilingual poll workers who will be needed.
Hodges defended his office, saying the 2002 requirements didn’t apply to the county until January when his office was well into planning for the March election. He also said San Benito County is being made an example of so other counties in the state will fall into line on the voting rules.
If so, let’s set the gold standard for California by ensuring all our residents have the necessary information to cast an informed vote. Let’s show a commitment to erasing the barriers to voting – the most fundamental right of our democracy.
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