10 counties told to accommodate bilingual voters
Photo credit: Patrick E. McCarthy | A file photo of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (June 21, 2010)
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ALBANY - The New York Attorney General's office has sent letters to 10 counties -- including Rockland, Dutchess, Ulster and Putnam -- telling them to accommodate Spanish-speaking voters from Puerto Rico as required by federal law.
Letters sent this month by Civil Rights Bureau Chief Kristen Clarke to the counties' election commissioners note the Voting Rights Act requires jurisdictions with significant numbers of Puerto Rican residents with limited English to ensure they can vote.
Measures include making all voting materials and ballots available in Spanish and having Spanish-language interpreters available at polling places.
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The letter notes that counties without effective plans could face civil liability. Several lacked Spanish translations on their websites.
Other counties receiving the letters are Erie, Monroe, Chautauqua, Schenectady, Sullivan and Montgomery.
