Orange County, N.Y. Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican Voters' Settlement

The Justice Department announced a settlement yesterday with Orange County, N.Y., to protect the rights of Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican voters under Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act. The consent decree is intended to resolve concerns that limited-English proficient Puerto Rican voters were being denied their full voting rights because the county failed to provide bilingual ballots and Spanish-language assistance as required by law.

Orange County has agreed that, starting with the April 24, 2012 presidential primary election, it will provide county-wide bilingual ballots at the polls. The consent decree includes additional steps that the county will take to achieve full compliance with Section 4(e) by the next election held in 2012. For example, the county will provide bilingual poll workers and the consent decree would also create a community-based Spanish-language advisory committee, which would allow the local Puerto Rican community to help shape the county’s bilingual election program.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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