NJ: Union County to print Spanish ballots after feds allege Voting Rights Act violations
Union County will be required to print ballots in English and Spanish under the terms of a consent decree the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
The consent decree follows a complaint lodged by federal prosecutors that alleged the county breached provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act requiring that bilingual ballots be printed in any voting jurisdiction where residents with limited English proficiency account for more than 5% of the voting population. The county also violated portions of the law requiring access for those with disabilities, prosecutors allege.
“Language barriers should never prevent an eligible voter from being able to freely participate in the democratic process,” Kristen Clarke, the U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a statement.
According to Census Bureau data, Hispanic residents account for 23% of the county’s voting population, and that group includes nearly 28,000 Spanish speakers with limited English proficiency.
Under the consent decree, which must still be approved by the courts, the county would be required to print all election materials in English and Spanish and ensure the presence of in-person Spanish language assistance in districts where at least 100 registered voters have Spanish surnames.
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/union-county-print-spanish-ballots-after-feds-allege-voting-rights-act-violations
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