Assistance to Voters (Notes from Senate Hearings)
Working File
January 27, 1982

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Case Files, Thornburg v. Gingles Working Files - Guinier. Assistance to Voters (Notes from Senate Hearings), 1982. a8f74478-dc92-ee11-be37-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/e05354ad-ac37-4db4-acb9-54fc8d0d4394/assistance-to-voters-notes-from-senate-hearings. Accessed July 20, 2025.
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ASSTSTANCE TO VOTERS NOTES FR,OM SENATE HEARIITGS Januarv 27, 1992 Testimonv of l{on. ,!.IiLliam French Smith (U.S. Att'v Gen'1) (page ]0) "The bilingual protections of sections 4 and 203 were adderl in 1975 to secure the right to vote for those citizens who are not fluent in the English languaqe. "In our meeting with various groups last summer, w€ heard numerous expressi.ons of support for the bilinguaL provisions. Citizens whose first language is not English have been affcrded by these provisions the opportunity to partici.pate effectively in the election process." ( Smittr then indicates the administrationrs support for extension of these provi-sions.) Precared Statement of 5on. Ed'.rard M. KenneCv (sen. - Mass.) (page 22ol El" bilingual provisions]Z "have proven successful in bringing thousands of .\merj-cans into the political process r+ho rvere previously unable or hesitant to participate because of their inability to speak and read English. " (224) "The theorecical argrument has been that such biJ-ingual assistance might make Ianguage rninoritlz voter assistance, 2 Ameri-cans more separate and insuLate them from the main- stream of American societv. I think that argument stands logic on its head. History teaches us that the !:est r.ray to avoiC insularitv is to bring people into the politj-cal process; not to make them feel shut out. An editorial last September in the San Diego Union put it well: As for language separatism, we do not see that as a real danger in AmericEt... bilingual voting, 3t best is a temporary measure, a make-shift neasure to give older Spanish-speaking citj-zens the sense of full particioation in our democracy. The younger members of the community' are moving rapidly array from Iinguistic isolation. We should not turn our backs now on the thousands of olCer Americans who, throuqh no fault of their o\rrn, simply have not had the opportunity to learn EngS-ish rsel1 enough to vote r.rithout painful embarrassement (sic) and dangerous confusion. " Preoared StatemenL of Hon. Howa:d M. I"Ietzenbaum (Sen.- (paqe 226) "As eLected officials, tve have a resSronsibility to preserve and to protect the right of every citizen to vote freely and privately without regarC to race, Ianguage or handicap.r' (227) "These bilingual provisions currently avoid the effective disenfranchisement of countless of language m:noritv Americans. " voter assitance, 3 Testimonrr of Vilna Martinez (Exec Dir and Gen. Counsel, I,LELDEF ( paqe 29L) "The continui-ng need f or biling:ua1 voting assitance is demonstrated by tha fact that 16 percent of all respondents, all U.S. citizens, in our survev /-conducted b1z MALDEF and the Southwest Voter Regis- tration Education Project in response to charges that bilingual elections are not needed-7 speak Spanish onIy, and 33 percent requested that the interview be conducted only in Spanish, suggresting that even though an individual may be bilingual, h€ or she may be more comfortable in Soanish. " Prepared Statement of R.ut[ J. Hiqgrfeld (Pres, Leaque of l{omen Voters) (page 325) "'['Ie support extension of the Bilingrual Elections provision unti t L9g2 to ensure that all eligible voters have access to the ba11ot." Januarv 23 L932 PreoareC Statement of i{on. Henrv L. Mars}_llgyg$ R,ich:nond. Va. ) ( pase 451) ,/Eites rvhicir still exists deny blacl<s access as an example of 7 "the determination among some whj-tf officials to to the political prccess" : "... In Carcline County which is 43 percent black, Voter assistance, 4 the loca1 NAACP branch reported that the General Regristrar 1s negative and indifferent and does not demonstrate a rvillingness to assist prospective registrants, especially b1acks. " Februarv 2 t9B2 estim of Abicrail Turner (Att' Mobil-e Ala. ) Fage 748t ,-Referring to the history of voting discrimination in Choctaw County (in.Alabamars "black beltl') and. the need f cr preclearance:J [The Justice Department itself had brought suit in ihe earlir sixties under the Civil Rights Act of 1957 because blacks l{ere being discriminated agai.nst in registering to vote. The Pederal court enjoined the county from refusing to provide assistance to black voters that had been provided to white voters. That was particularly the case for persons who e,tere illiterate. The co':nty's response was enacting a more difficult literacll test. The judge struck it clourn ag:ain." ./-l{s. Turnerrs p,repared statement describes the same problem at p. '758.-7 Preoared Siatement: (page 759) fnotes that to object to a codnty's reregist.ratj-on -- pJ-an, of an earlier aqreement the Justice Department failed "reidentification " i. e. despite the plan's violation ',.rith the Justice Departnent more than one voter were harassed and threateneCc r+ith arrest." ffootnotes omitted 7 voter assistance, 5 requS.rinq, i-nter Bfia, assistance for illiterates.J From ldritten Submission b.,' Turner entitled: 'rThe Voting R,ights Act in Alabama: A Current Legal Assessment" (page 773) "In at least eiqht counties, serious violations of election 1at+ have occurred rvhen i1l. iterate or handicapped blacks have been denied the right to have the person of their choice provide tirem needed assistance, as provided under Alabama Iaw. Ala. Code 5 I L7-8-29; L7-g-25. ..o rn "t{ashington County and Pickens County in the 1980 election, and Perry County in 1978, people vrho assisted ,/ Wote that Tr:rner's testimonv rtas nostlir directed to the need for strong section 5 preclearance provisions. However, it Coes sholrr concertn-of the act as a t,rhole that voter assistance be provided. 7 PrepareC Sta.tement of Ben jamin J. Hooks (Exec. Dir., NAACP) .(paqe ?79\ /Etter noting his support for an extension cf the bilinqual provisions:7 "For the Hlspanic adult who cannot speak or read Enqlisl.r f luently, the right to vote has no meaning if it cannot be used. Against this backdrop, the mere inconvenience or costs of printing pales into insignificance. a! voter assistance, 6 Since the 1975 extension of the ..Act when the bilingual provlsions srere enacted, the political proccsE has been opened up to many r,rho were previously excluded and we beLieve that this protactlon ls essential to preservs the rights of a grouP of citizenE to particLpata fulIy ln all aspects of Arneriean 1lfe. " (n;-'- t- - r-.+iD. tyb;tu| \7.r.r.. eih. h*- p<tr-tt s*t-a* atttfi9: a /< ? uos rzie4 &rL a llbiqo'. & Cr..ad q.! 4rm',a.1 t1 Voter Assistance, Testimon.r of Al:icrail Turner (page i73) ";lbsentee ballots have been the object of continuing controversy in the Alabam election process. Lack of confidentialitlz and inequitable eligibility criteria \{ere two problems ivhich l{ere corrected in 1978 by legislative action. However, blacks continue to maintain that they have been unfairly denied the use of absentee ballots and,/or that they have been harassed and threateried ''because the'/ did use them."