Voting Rights Act Section 203 Cases

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BRADLEY J. SCHLOZMAN
Acting Assistant Attorney General

DEBRA WONG YANG, United States Attorney
MICHELE C. MARCHAND
Assistant United States Attorney (#93390)
United States Courthouse
312 North Spring Street, 14th floor
Los Angeles, California 90012
Telephone: (213) 894-2727
Facsimile: (213) 894-7177

JOHN TANNER, Chief
AVNER SHAPIRO, Trial Attorney
JOHN "BERT" RUSS, Trial Attorney (#192471)
ALBERTO RUISANCHEZ, Trial Attorney
Voting Section
Civil Rights Division
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. - NWB-7254
Washington, D.C. 20530
Telephone: (202) 305-1840
Facsimile: (202) 307-3961

Counsel for Plaintiff
United States of America

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
WESTERN DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,                                                        No. CV05-5131 GAF

Plaintiff,

                                          v.                                                                  THREE-JUDGE COURT

CITY OF ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA;                                                COMPLAINT
THE ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL;
BILL CROWE in his official
capacity as Rosemead
City Manager; and NANCY
VALDERRAMA in her official
capacity as Rosemead City
Clerk,
Defendants.
______________________________________

The United States of America, Plaintiff herein, alleges:

The Attorney General files this action pursuant to Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ("Section 203"), as amended, 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973aa-1a; 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973aa-2; and 28 U.S.C. ï½§ 2201.
The Court has jurisdiction of this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ï½§ 1345 and 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973aa-2. In accordance with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973aa-2 and 28 U.S.C. ï½§ 2284, the Section 203 claim must be heard and determined by a court of three judges. The events relevant to this action occurred in the City of Rosemead, which is located in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Defendant THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD ("Rosemead" or "the City") is a political and geographical subdivision of the County of Los Angeles and the State of California.
Defendant THE ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL is, pursuant to state law, Rosemead's local governing body.
Defandants JAY IMPERIAL, GARY TAYLOR, MARGARET CLARK, JOHN TRAN and JOHN NUNEZ are members of the Rosemead City Council. Each of the Defendants resides in Rosemad and is sued in his or her official capacity,
Defendant BILL CROWE is the Rosemead City Manager. In this capacity, defendant CROWE has responsibilities for the administration of city affairs, including responsibilities relating to the administration of voting and elections in Rosemead. Defendant CROWE is sued in his official capacity.
Defendant NANCY VALDERRAMA is Rosemead's City Clerk. In this capacity, Defendant VALDERRAMA has responsibilities concerning the administration of voting and elections in Rosemead. Defendant VALDERRAMA is sued in her official capacity.
According to the 2000 Census, the City of Rosemead has a total population of 53,280, of whom 16,862 (31.6%) are Chinese, 6,945 (13.0%) are Vietnamese, and 21,846 (41.0%) are Hispanic. The City has a total voting age population ("VAP") of 38,685, of whom 12,729 (32.9%) are Chinese, 5,236(13.5%) are Vietnamese, and 14,571 are Hispanic (37.7%). The total citizen voting age population ("CVAP") for the City is 25,550, of whom 8,196 (32.1%) are Chinese, 3,305(12.9%) are Vietnamese, and 8,921 (34.9%) are Hispanic.
The Census Bureau has designated the County of Los Angeles as subject to the requirements of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act for Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and Filipino. See 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973aa-1a(b)(2); see also 67 Fed. Reg. 48,871 (July 26, 2002). As a political unit within the County of Los Angeles, the City of Rosemead is also subject to the requirements of Section 203 for these languages. See 28 C.F.R. ï½§ 55.9. The coverage determination of the Census Bureau is final and non-reviewable. See 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973aa-1a(b)(4). The City currently has significant numbers of voters in the Chinese-, Vietnamese-, and Spanish-speaking communities who need assistance in the election process in languages other than English.
As a political subdivision of Los Angeles County, Rosemead has been continuously subject to Section 203's requirements to provide multilingual elections in Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese since September 18, 1992. See 57 Fed. Reg. 43,213 (Sept. 18, 1992); 67 Fed. Reg. 48,871 (July 26, 2002). The United States Department of Justice has directly notified election officials, including Rosemead and Los Angeles County election officials, of their jurisdictions' responsibilities under Section 203, and Los Angeles County separately has provided such information to City of Rosemead officials.
Because Rosemead is subject to the requirements of Section 203, "any registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, or other materials or information relating to the electoral process, including ballots" that Defendants provide in English must also be furnished in Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese for its Spanish-, Chinese-, and Vietnamese-speaking voters, respectively. 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973aa-1a(c).
CAUSE OF ACTION
In conducting elections in Rosemead, Defendants have failed to furnish effectively, in the Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese languages, the information and assistance necessary to afford the significant number of Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese citizens with limited English proficiency residing within Rosemead a fair opportunity for effective participation in the electoral process, including, but not limited to, the following:
1. failing to recruit, appoint, train, and maintain an adequate pool of bilingual poll officials capable of providing language assistance to Chinese and Vietnamese citizens with limited English proficiency, despite being provided the names of experienced bilingual poll workers by Los Angeles County;
2. failing to translate fully into Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese election related materials used at Rosemead's election sites, including but not limited to, the official ballot, polling booth voting instructions, a notice reminding voters to "Remove All 'Hanging Chads,'" signs used to identify polling place locations, a notice describing the rights of voters, a telephone card informing voters of a telephone number to use for acquiring precinct location and other voting related information, and provisional and absentee ballot materials;
3. failing to translate into Chinese and Vietnamese pre-election related publicity, notices, and announcements, including, but not limited to, information contained in a legal notice publicizing the City election; notices concerning date, time, and place of elections; notices concerning candidates for election; and notices to voters of polling place assignments;
4. failing to translate into Spanish pre-election related publicity, notices, and announcements, including, but not limited to, notices concerning date, time, and place of elections; notices concerning candidates for election; and notices of voter polling place assignments; and
5. failing to provide, in a timely manner, sample ballot and voter information pamphlets translated into Chinese and Vietnamese to Chinese and Vietnamese voters who had formally requested assistance and materials in their own languages, thereby depriving these voters of an opportunity to vote by mail.
Defendants' failure to provide the City of Rosemead's Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese voters with limited English proficiency with election information and assistance in their respective languages, as described above, constitutes a violation of Section 203.
Unless enjoined by this Court, Defendants will continue to violate Section 203 by failing to provide Rosemead's Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese citizens with limited English proficiency with the Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese language election information and assistance necessary for their political participation.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff the United States of America prays that this Court enter an order:

(1) Declaring that Defendants have failed to provide election information and assistance necessary to those who require it in Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese in violation of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973aa-1a;

(2) Enjoining Defendants, their employees, agents, and successors in office, and all persons acting in concert with them, from failing to provide Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese-language election information and assistance to persons with limited English proficiency as required by Section 203, 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973aa-1a;

(3) Requiring Defendants to devise and implement a remedial plan to ensure that Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese citizens with limited English proficiency are able to participate in all phases of the electoral process as required by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973aa-1a;

(4) Requiring Defendants to devise and implement a remedial plan to ensure that, in the event that the need for assistance arises in other languages subject to the requirements of Section 203, the City will provide election related information and materials to residents needing such assistance.

(5) Requiring Defendants to publicize the remedial plan in such a manner as to ensure its widespread dissemination to Rosemead's voters;

(6) Authorizing the appointment of federal examiners for elections held in Rosemead pursuant to Section 3(a) of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. ï½§ 1973a(a), through August 6, 2007.

Plaintiff further prays that this Court order such additional relief as the interests of justice may require, together with the costs and disbursements in maintaining this action.

Date: the _14th__ day of July, 2005

ALBERTO GONZALES
Attorney General

________/s/_______________________
BRADLEY J. SCHLOZMAN
Acting Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division

_______/s/_______________________
DEBRA WONG YANG
United States Attorney

_________/s/_____________________
JOHN TANNER
Chief, Voting Section

________/s/______________________
AVNER SHAPIRO
JOHN "BERT" RUSS
ALBERTO RUISANCHEZ
Trial Attorneys, Voting Section
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
NWB-7254
Washington, D.C. 20530
(202) 305-1840

Updated August 6, 2015