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A federal judge on Friday instructed election officials in 32 counties to provide ballots in Spanish for the November general elections, but said there was not enough time to order measures.
In a 27-page decision, US District Judge Mark Walker partially sided with plaintiffs seeking an injunction to require Spanish-language votes and other forms of assistance for more than 30,000 Puerto Ricans in the counties.
"Voting in a language you do not understand, it's like asking this court [to] Decide the Nobel Prize winner for chemistry – ineffective, in other words, "writes Walker. "Courts have long considered that the right to vote includes not only the right to physically enter a polling station and fill in a ballot, but also the right to understand and understand what is on this ballot. vote.
But with the election in less than two months, he acknowledged the concerns raised by county election supervisors regarding changes to be made at this late stage. By issuing a preliminary injunction requiring samples of Spanish ballots, he refused to order items such as Spanish ballot papers and the hiring of bilingual poll workers.
Walker wrote that "granting all the relief requested of the plaintiffs would pose considerable difficulties to the election administrators".
"If this court refuses any recourse to the plaintiffs, they will lose their right to a meaningful vote," he wrote. "Indeed, this court would allow the deprivation of the right to vote. If this court grants all plaintiffs the relief sought, the defendants will have to spend a great deal of time and effort in complying with the Voting Rights Act. They should do this before the November general election, which involves significant planning, logistics and oversight, all of which are well documented in the file. "
The potential class action lawsuit was filed in August by a coalition of groups. Marta Valentina Rivera Madera, a resident of Alachua County, has been designated as a complainant. It targeted Alachua, Bay, Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Hernando, Highlands, Indian River, Jackson, Lake, Leon, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Monroe, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Pasco , Putnam, St. Johns, St. Lucia, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Sumter, Taylor and Wakulla.
Plaintiffs' counsel focused on a portion of the voting rights law that targets individuals who have been educated in schools where the predominant language is not English and who seek not to be denied the right to vote. right to vote. A complaint filed by the plaintiffs stated that Congress had enacted this part of the law "to protect the rights of Puerto Ricans to vote in the United States".
The plaintiffs also reported an influx of Puerto Ricans into Florida after Hurricane Maria devastated US territory last year. Walker's decision indicated that Rivera, the named complainant, moved to Gainesville after the storm.
The plaintiffs commenced an underlying lawsuit and sought a preliminary injunction to try to quickly obtain changes for the November 6 general election. Walker's decision dealt only with the preliminary injunction, but seemed to make it clear that he supported the complainants on the underlying issues.
"Puerto Ricans are American citizens," he wrote. "Unique among Americans, they are not trained primarily in English – and do not need to be. But, like all American citizens, they have the fundamental right to vote. The issue in this case is whether the Florida authorities, in accordance with long-standing federal law, must provide assistance to Puerto Rican voters wishing to vote. According to the plain language of the Voting Rights Act, they must
Walker, who has repeatedly clashed with Governor Rick Scott's administration on voting-related issues, openly mocked state election officials.
"Here we are again, the clock arrives at 6 am Sonny and Cher's" I Got You Babe "begins to play, and locals and visitors to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, eagerly await the prediction of the groundhog. the state of Florida is accused of violating federal law in its election management, "he wrote sarcastically.
The decision said that 13 Florida counties – Broward, DeSoto, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough, Lee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk and Seminole – are providing newsletters in Spanish to respect another part of the vote Rights Act. In addition, the counties of Collier and Volusia provide material in Spanish, although they were not obliged to do so. The lawsuit targeted 32 counties with Puerto Rican populations.
Walker's order requires the Florida State Department to direct election supervisors in the 32 counties to provide samples of Spanish ballot papers of the same size, information, layout, placement and font than an official ballot. Be required to post samples of Spanish ballots on their websites and provide signs to polling stations to ensure that voters are aware of the voting ballot examples.
The Alachua County election supervisor, Kim Barton, who is accused in this case as a representative of other supervisors, said in court documents that she had taken a number of steps to help Spanish-speaking voters. provide bilingual support in his office and plan to translate an electoral guide into Spanish.
Similarly, Leon County election supervisor Mark Earley said this week that his office had been working to create housing.
"All of our election guides and voting guides have all been translated," Earley told News Service of Florida. "We had printed copies and copies available at polling stations. During the advance poll, one person asked for help to vote in Spanish, on 206,000 registered voters or on the 76,000 voters who voted. "
Tom Urban, Head of News Service Awards, contributed to this report.
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