12148: Fla. Counties Consider Vote Changes (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Fla. Counties Consider Vote Changes

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press Writer
Posted May 22 2002, 11:43 PM EDT

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Two Florida counties are considering making their elections
easier for non-English speaking voters as a way to avoid federal lawsuits
alleging civil rights violations in the fiercely disputed 2000 presidential
election.

The government alleges that Miami-Dade officials didn't do enough to help
Haitian-American voters understand the ballot, according to a copy of a
proposed agreement between the county and the Justice Department provided
Wednesday to The Associated Press.

Osceola County, south of Orlando, is accused of not providing
Spanish-speaking voters with election information in their own language. A
letter from the Justice Department to Osceola officials, which county
elections workers provided to the AP, also said there were not enough
bilingual poll workers.

The Justice Department also said it had received complaints that Osceola
poll workers discouraged Spanish-speaking voters by telling them they had to
speak English to vote, and requesting green cards.

"Our investigation ... produced evidence that Hispanic voters in Osceola
County had less opportunities than other members of the electorate to
participate in the political process," Assistant Attorney General Ralph Boyd
said in the letter.

Boyd told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that he expects three
Florida counties targeted by the Justice Department to negotiate settlements
by the time he's ready to file lawsuits.

The Justice Department declined to release the Florida counties' names. The
Associated Press contacted election officials in Florida's 67 counties, but
only Miami-Dade and Osceola acknowledged they have been targeted for
possible lawsuits.

The Justice Department is also considering lawsuits in Missouri and
Tennessee.

Miami-Dade officials have denied violating voting rights law. The county has
cooperated with the Justice Department and is negotiating a settlement, said
Murray Greenberg, the attorney for the county who provided the copy of the
agreement.

According to the draft, Miami-Dade officials would be required to:

* Ensure that Haitian-American voters with limited English could have a
person of their choice help them in the voting booth.

* Assign at least one Creole-speaking poll worker to precincts with large
numbers of Haitian-American voters and try harder to recruit Creole-speaking
poll workers.

* Make sure signs in precincts with large Haitian-American populations are
also written in Creole.

Boyd's letter faulted Osceola election officials because less than 4 percent
of poll workers spoke Spanish in a county with a voting-age population that
was more than 27 percent Hispanic.

He said Osceola also failed to provide written election information in
Spanish and post signs indicating that bilingual assistance was available.

Osceola County Election Supervisor Donna Bryant said her office was
cooperating with federal officials. The Justice Department praised Osceola
County for improvements made for a special election in 2001. The county
provided ballots, sample ballots, affidavits and forms in Spanish.

"I think it will be resolved quickly," said John Ritch, an attorney for the
Osceola elections office.


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