L anguage A ccessibility A dvisory C ommittee

1. Language Accessibility Advisory Committee Madera County Registrar of Voters 2017

2. Purpose of the LAAC • Feedback • Collaboration • Outreach

3. Purpose of the LAAC • Feedback – • A forum for limited-English proficiency communities to discuss issues they encounter in the voting process. • Recommend improvements to polling places, websites, voter materials and election procedures.

4. Purpose of the LAAC • Collaboration – • Open lines of communication and cooperation with community groups. • Address issues and minimize misunderstandings. • Assist in recruitment of bilingual poll-workers.

5. Purpose of the LAAC • Outreach – • To individuals and organizations that serve voters with limited-English proficiency. • An opportunity for the Elections Division to better understand the diverse array of challenges faced by voters.

6. Duties of the LAAC • Recommendations: • reaching voters with limited-English proficiency; • improving access and participation in elections; • Improving the availability and accessibility of elections materials.

7. Duties of the LAAC • Advise: • election officials on how to recognize barriers to participation for voters with limited-English proficiency; • elections officials on existing programs to reach voters;

8. Duties of the LAAC • Assist: • Elections officials in disseminating information to limited-English proficiency communities; • Elections officials in developing more accessible voting materials; • in the recruitment of pollworkers or precinct officials who are bilingual.

9. Meetings of the LAAC • Meetings are held at least twice a year and more often as necessary. • Meetings are structured to provide a forum where community members can provide independent advice that contributes to the Registrar’s decision-making process.

10. Meetings of the LAAC • Meetings are open to the public and members of the public will have opportunity to make oral statements during meetings. • Meetings are accessible to voters with limited-English proficiency.

11. Legal Authority for a LAAC • Voting Rights Act of 1965. • §10503. (a)The Congress finds that, through the use of various practices and procedures, citizens of language minorities have been effectively excluded from participation in the electoral process. Among other factors, the denial of the right to vote of such minority group citizens is ordinarily directly related to the unequal educational opportunities afforded them resulting in high illiteracy and low voting participation. The Congress declares that, in order to enforce the guarantees of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, it is necessary to eliminate such discrimination by prohibiting these practices, and by prescribing other remedial devices.

12. Legal Authority for a LAAC • California Elections Code §12303 . • (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that non-English-speaking citizens, like all other citizens, should be encouraged to vote. Therefore, appropriate efforts should be made to minimize obstacles to voting by citizens who lack sufficient skill in English to vote without assistance.

13. LAAC Membership • Members of a LAAC should have either a demonstrated knowledge of a particular covered language, language accessibility, or experience working with communities who speak a covered language.

14. LAAC Membership • To become a member of the Language Accessibility Advisory Committee, complete the application form provided at the end of the meeting or you may contact the Elections Division to receive an application by mail. • (800) 435-0509 • (559) 675-7720 • The County Registrar’s Office has bilingual staff available during regular business hours.