Department of Justice Seal Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, JULY 26, 2002
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
CR
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888

BUREAU OF CENSUS AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ANNOUNCE JURISDICTIONS SUBJECT TO MINORITY LANGUAGE ELECTIONS REQUIREMENTS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT


Washington, D.C.– Bureau of the Census Director Louis Kincannon and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Ralph F. Boyd, Jr. today announced the release of the list of jurisdictions subject to the minority language elections required under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. Under Section 203, these jurisdictions must provide access to all stages of their electoral process for the designated minority group in the minority language.

Assistant Attorney General Boyd said, "I'm gratified that the Census Bureau was able to make these determinations in July so jurisdictions will be able to provide bilingual assistance to limited English speaking voters at this fall's elections. The Department of Justice is now engaged in an aggressive campaign to make sure citizens who require language assistance to vote receive the assistance they need."

Director Kincannon said, "The staff of the Census Bureau worked hard to release these determinations in time for this fall's elections. We are pleased that we were able to release these determinations well in advance of our September target date."

Based on the latest determinations, more than 220 jurisdictions are now required to provide access to their elections in Spanish, more than 100 jurisdictions are required to provide access to their elections to American Indians and Alaskan Natives in the appropriate language and more than 15 jurisdictions are required to provide access to their elections for Asian Americans in the appropriate language.

The Bureau of the Census is charged with making coverage determinations based on the formula Congress established in the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Section of Civil Rights Division is responsible for ensuring compliance with Section 203 requirements and taking enforcement actions against jurisdictions where necessary. The Department of Justice will notify each of the covered jurisdictions about the determinations and the requirements of Section 203, and will provide as much assistance as possible to ensure that minority language voters will have equal access to the electoral process in this fall's elections. If necessary, the Department will take enforcement action to ensure compliance with Section 203 requirements in time for this fall's elections.

More information can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting

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