Civil Action No.
05-11598-EGY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plantiff,
v.
CITY OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ET AL.
Defendants
October 18, 2005
ORDER
The parties have filed a joint motion to enter a revised order concerning their
Memorandum of
Agreement and Settlement.
The three-judge court heard argument concerning this joint motion on October 17, 2005.
The court understands from reporesentations made by the City of Boston and from the United
States that paragraphs 22 through 25 of the Memorandum of Agreement and Settlement are
intended to and will have the effect of obtaining meaningful consultation from relevant
community groups (through the Task Force and by other means) as to pre-election procedures
and materials as well as to post-election critiques.
Based upon these representations and our review of the documents, we hereby order,
adjudge, and decree that:
(1) The appointment of federal examiners is
authorized for the City of Boston pursuant to Section 3(a) of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C.
§ 1973a(a), through December 31, 2008.
(2) The parties have entered into a
comprehensive Memorandum of Agreement and Settlement resolving the disputes between them,
a copy of which is attached, with the following modification: the last sentence of
Pargraph 25 of the Agreement is stricken. The court further orders, without objection from the
parties, that any substantial modification of the Memorandum of Agreement and Settlement
shall be filed contemporaneously with the court. This matter shall be placed on the Court's
inactive docket, and the Court shall retain jurisdiction, through expiration of said
Agreement and the Court's interlocutory order authorizing apointment of federal examiners,
both to occur on December 31, 2008, at which time this matter shall be dismissed.
(3) Shaould there be a need to do so prior
to December 31, 2008, the Department of Justice or the City of Boston, separately or together,
may return to this court to resolve disputes under the Memorandum of Agreement and
Settlement.
________/s/______________________
U.S. Circuit Judge Sandra L. Lynch
________/s/______________________
U.S. District Judge William G. Young
________/s/______________________
U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris
MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT AND SETTLEMENT
Whereas Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires that citizens be allowed to
participate equally in all phases of the election process without regard to race, color or
membership in a language-minority group, 42 U.S.C. § 1973, and said Section applies to all areas
of the United States; and
Whereas the City of Boston has been subject to the requirements of Section 203 of the Voting
Right Act, 42 U.S.C § 19733aa-la, with respect to the Spanish language, since l992, see 57 Fed.
Reg. 43,213-02 (Sept. 18, 1992); and
Whereas the Voting Rights Act protects those language-minority groups against which there has
been a history of discrimination in voting in the United States, and specifically defines "language
minorities" or "language minority group" as including only persons who are American Indian,
Asian American, Alaskan Natives or of Spanish heritage, 42 U.S.C. § 1973l(c)(3); 42 U.S.C. §
1973aa-1a(e); and
Whereas the Director of the Census determined on July 26, 2002, that the City of Boston
continued to be subject to Section 203 coverage under the Voting Rights Act for Spanish-heritage
citizens, based on a determination that more than 10,000 citizens in the City are
members of a language-minority group, specifically of Spanish heritage, who do not speak
English well enough to participate effectively in an English-language election process, and the
illiteracy rate of these persons as a group is higher than the national illiteracy rate,
see 67 Fed. Reg. 48,871 (July 26, 2002); and
Whereas the Department of Justice has, since 1992, sent the City of Boston and other
jurisdictions covered under Section 203 information regarding Section 203's requirements and
has met with City officials and officials of other jurisdictions to further explain these
requirements; and
Whereas the City maintains that since 1992 it has undertaken to provide full and fair access to its
elections to language-minority groups, including citizens of Spanish heritage, in accordance with
its obligations and responsibilities under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, including
providing minority-language assistance at a number of polling places, bilingual signage and
literature relevant to the City's voting practices and procedures, and bilingual ballots; and
Whereas the Department of Justice filed a civil complaint against the City of Boston on July 29,
2005, captioned United States of America v. City of Boston, et al., Civil Action No. 05-11598,
claiming violations of the Voting Rights Act in regard to the City's covered language-minority
voting population; and
Whereas the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, which has primary enforcement
responsibility for the Voting Rights Act, has alleged that the City of Boston is not in compliance
with Sections 2 and 203 of the Voting Rights Act and needs to take steps to ensure that all
minority-language voters covered by the Act, including Spanish-speaking, Chinese-speaking, and
Vietnamese-speaking voters, have equal access to the City's electoral process for all city, state,
and federal elections administered in whole or in part by the City; and
Whereas the City of Boston disputes the Justice Department's allegations, and asserts it is
committed to increasing its current efforts to provide covered language-minority voters equal
access to the election process and to resolving whatever differences there may be with the
Department of Justice regarding the manner in which it has endeavored to provide the franchise
to covered language-minority groups in the City, and has entered into discussions and
negotiations with the Department of Justice intent on reaching agreement as to what
improvements the City might adopt so as to satisfy the Department of Justice that the City's
voting practices and procedures will fully and fairly apply to citizens of covered
language-minority groups, in the same manner as they are applied to English-speaking citizens,
as required by the Voting Rights Act; and
Whereas the City of Boston and the Department of Justice have reached agreement with respect
to the matters set forth herein, and are desirous of working together in the future so as to ensure
that covered language-minority citizens of voting age in the City of Boston are provided the same
opportunity to participate in the franchise as are other voting-age citizens to the fullest extent
possible;
NOW THEREFORE, for full, fair and adequate consideration given and received, it is hereby
agreed as follows:
1. The City of Boston, its employees, agents,
successors in office, and all persons acting in concert with it, agree to continue, as
they have since at least 2002, to provide in Spanish all of those "registration or voting
notices, forms, instructions, assistance or other materials or information relating to the
electoral process, including ballots" that the City provides in English, so that such
materials are equally available in Spanish and English, as required by Section 203 of
the Voting Rights Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1973aa-la(c), and also provide such materials
and information the City may have recently begun providing, and all future such materials and
information. In similar fashion, the City further agrees henceforth to provide such election
materials in Chinese and Vietnamese as it provides in English in accordance with the terms of
this Agreement.
2. The terms of this Agreement shall apply to all federal, state, and local elections
administered by the City of Boston to the fullest extent permitted by law, which shall include
elections run in whole or in part by the City for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or any
political subdivision of the Commonwealth. To insure the City's full authorization to perform its
obligations and responsibilities hereunder, the City of Boston commits to seek passage by the
Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, before the next scheduled state elections on
September 19, 2006, of Home Rule Legislation pursuant to the Home Rule Amendment to the
Massachusetts Constitution and the Massachusetts Home Rule Procedures Act, G.L. c.43B, s.1,
et seq., authorizing use by the City of Chinese and Vietnamese bilingual ballots as
required by this Agreement in all federal and state elections administered by the City. If said
Home Rule Legislation has not been obtained 90 days prior to the September 19, 2006 elections,
the City, together with the Department of Justice, will immediately file with the Court a joint
petition for a declaratory order regarding the City's authority to print and distribute such
bilingual ballots in said state election, while continuing the City's Home Rule initiative to
similar effect. The parties agree that such an order would be necessary and appropriate under
all of the circumstances.
3. The City of Boston, its employees, agents,
successors in office, and all persons acting in concert with it, agree not to engage in any
act or practice which has as its purpose or result the denial or abridgment of the right to
vote on the basis of membership in a language-minority group in violation of Section 2 of
the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973.
4. The United States agrees to move to dismiss
its complaint against the City of Boston based on the City's willingness to enter into this
Agreement, and, to that end, the parties hereto agree to jointly move for conditional
dismissal pursuant to Rule 41(a)(2), Fed. R. Civ. P.
Minority Language Assistance
5. The City of Boston agrees to continue to
make available by telephone, without cost, trained bilingual election personnel able to
speak Spanish to answer voting-related questions during normal business hours, and while
the polls are open on election days. In addition, the City agrees to provide like telephone
assistance, without cost, through trained bilingual election personnel able to speak Chinese
and Vietnamese to assist members of those language-minority groups on election days.
6. The City of Boston agrees to recruit, hire,
and assign available bilingual election officers able to understand, speak, read, and write
Spanish fluently to provide assistance to Spanish-speaking voters at the polls on election days.
In addition, the City agrees similarly to recruit, hire, and assign available bilingual election
officers to assist Chinese-speaking and Vietnamese-speaking voters at the polls on election days.
7. The City of Boston agrees to survey City
employees to identify those who speak Spanish, Chinese, or Vietnamese fluently, and to allow
and encourage such employees, as they can be made available to provide assistance, to serve
at the polls on election day. The City further agrees to strive to find and utilize qualified
bilingual persons fluent in Spanish, Chinese, or Vietnamese to serve as election officers, and,
to that end, shall, among other outreach efforts, invite recommendations of names from each
major political party, request each educational entity within or proximate to the City to
allow and encourage selected bilingual students (as allowed by state law and as part of an
educational program) to serve as election officers, even on election days that fall on school
days, and receive academic credit appropriate to their service as well as all pay and benefits
of election officers, and urge eligible members of the Mayor's Advisory Task Force (including
its Community Liaisons and the individuals and organizations with which they are in contact,
as discussed below), also to serve as and help recruit election officers.
8. The City of Boston agrees to increase
substantially its pool of bilingual election officers so as to serve all voters who need
assistance in Spanish to vote. In 2000, the Census Bureau, based on data it collected,
determined that 35 out of every 100 voting-age citizens of Spanish heritage in Boston were
unable to speak English well enough to participate in a political process administered in English.
With that information-base, and applying the Census Bureau Spanish surname list to the City's
voter registration rolls -- the best current measure of the likely need for assistance by
Spanish-speaking voters in Boston -- the City agrees to supplement its existing targeting
program, so that any polling place in which there are, according to the Census Bureau Spanish
surname list:
- 100-249 registered voters with Spanish surnames, shall be staffed by at least one
Spanish-speaking election officer;
- 250-499 registered voters with Spanish surnames, shall be staffed by at least two
Spanish-speaking election officers;
- 500-999 registered voters with Spanish surnames, shall be staffed by at least
three Spanish-speaking election officers; and
- 1,000 or more registered voters with Spanish surnames, shall be staffed by at least
four Spanish-speaking election officers.
The parties may by written agreement adjust these requirements in light of reliable
information that the actual need for language assistance in a particular polling place is lesser or
greater than these standards.
9. The City of Boston further agrees to provide
bilingual election officers to assist at polling places serving Chinese and Vietnamese voters
on a basis suited to the differing needs of these language-minority groups. The Census Bureau
reports higher rates for Chinese (50%) and Vietnamese (61%) citizens of voting age who are
unable to speak English well enough to participate in elections conducted in English than it
reports for their counterparts of Spanish heritage (35%). Moreover, surname lists compiled
of Asian-American citizens, such as the Lauderdale-Kestenbaum List, by necessity exclude
common but ethnically ambiguous surnames (such as "Lee"), so that such lists understate the
actual numbers of Chinese and Vietnamese citizens. Accordingly, the Department of Justice
uses a separate formula for each minority-language group, as appropriate, to measure the
likely need of that group of voters for language assistance at the polls. With that
information-base and to better serve the needs of its Chinese and Vietnamese citizens,
the City of Boston agrees to the following commencing with the November 8, 2005 Citywide election:
(a) any polling place in which there are,
according to the Lauderdale and Kestenbaum surname list:
(1) 35-84 registered voters with Chinese
surnames, shall be staffed by at least one Chinese-speaking election officer;
(2) 85-169 registered voters with
Chinese surnames, shall be staffed by at least two Chinese-speaking election officers;
(3) 170-339 registered voters with
Chinese surnames, shall be staffed by at least three Chinese-speaking election officers; and
(4) 340 or more registered voters
with Chinese surnames, shall be staffed by at least four Chinese-speaking election officers.
(b) any polling place in which there are,
according to the Lauderdale and Kestenbaum surname list:
(1) 30-74 registered voters with
Vietnamese surnames, shall be staffed by at least one Vietnamese-speaking election officer;
(2) 75-149 registered voters with
Vietnamese surnames, shall be staffed by at least two Vietnamese-speaking election officers;
(3) 150-299 registered voters with
Vietnamese surnames, shall be staffed by at least three Vietnamese-speaking election officers; and
(4) 300 or more registered voters with
Vietnamese surnames, shall be staffed by at least four Vietnamese-speaking election officers.
The parties may by written agreement adjust these requirements in light of reliable
information that the actual need for language assistance in a particular polling place is lesser or
greater than these standards.
10. The City of Boston agrees to have available
on election days bilingual persons, trained in Spanish-language election terminology and all
election procedures, as appropriate, who shall be on call to travel to polling places not
staffed by a bilingual election officer to provide any necessary assistance to any
Spanish-speaking voter. Similarly, the City agrees to have bilingual persons trained in
Chinese and Vietnamese on call on election days to provide like services as needed to assist
Chinese-speaking or Vietnamese-speaking voters.
11. The City of Boston agrees to post signs
prominently in English and Spanish at all polling places in the City, indicating that
Spanish-speaking assistance is available by a telephone in the polling place.
Similarly, the City agrees to post signs prominently in English and Chinese and in English
and Vietnamese indicating that assistance in either Chinese or Vietnamese, as appropriate,
is available by a telephone in the polling place.
Election officer training.
12. Prior to each election, in addition to
any other required state or city training, the City of Boston agrees to increase existing
training of all election officers and other election personnel to be present at the polls
on the legal requirements of Sections 2 and 203 of the Voting Rights Act, including making
minority-language assistance and materials available to voters in an appropriate manner,
applying all voting standards and practices equally, allowing voters their assistor of
choice consistent with and as limited by Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act, provisional
voting, the need to enforce state law prohibitions against campaigning in or near the polls,
and other election-related issues, and being respectful and courteous to all voters regardless
of race, ethnicity, color, or language abilities. In addition to the general training for election
officers, the City of Boston agrees to train all bilingual election officers (whether they be
Spanish, Chinese or Vietnamese speakers) on election terminology and voting instructions for
their specific language. The City of Boston further agrees to maintain a record of which election
officers attend training sessions, including the time, location, and training personnel involved.
13. In order to be eligible to serve as an
election officer, an individual must commit orally or in writing that he or she will: (1) treat
all voters equally and with respect; (2) honor the candidate and other ballot choices of all
voters who receive assistance in marking their ballots, and avoid making any statement or
allowing any person to make any communication within or near the polls to influence any
voter's ballot choice; (3) allow voters requiring assistance to choose a person to assist,
consistent with Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973aa-6; and (4) offer
voters provisional ballots who are entitled to such ballots under Massachusetts law and
the Help America Vote Act of 2002, 42 U.S.C. § 15482(a). The Election Department shall
maintain records to demonstrate that each election officer has made this commitment.
Response to Complaints About Election Officers
14. The City of Boston agrees, at the request
of and on the responsibility of the Department of Justice, to remove from the polls any
election officer who the Department of Justice advises has, in its judgment, knowingly
violated the requirements set forth in items one and two in Paragraph 13 of this Agreement.
15. The City of Boston, upon receipt of
complaints by voters, or their representatives or agents, whether oral or written, agrees
to investigate expeditiously any allegations of election-officer hostility toward
minority-language voters in any election. Where there is credible evidence that election
officers have engaged in inappropriate treatment of voters, the City of Boston shall continue
its practice of discipline, to include termination and removal of such election officers
for future elections, where appropriate.
Translation of Election Materials
16. The City of Boston agrees to employ
trained translators who are familiar with Spanish-language election terminology to produce
clear and accurate written translations, and also to employ trained translators who are
familiar with Chinese-language and/or Vietnamese-language election terminology for the same purposes.
17. The City of Boston agrees to compile a
checklist identifying each written or printed item of election information that the City
of Boston makes available to the public at each polling place. The checklist shall include
for each item an attestation that the election officers at the polling place posted or made
available to voters these materials in each minority language, as required in this Agreement,
and shall also include sufficient space for insertion of a detailed written explanation of
why individual items were not posted or available. The Wardens for each polling place must
complete and sign this checklist or, where appropriate, provide written explanation for a
failure to do so, before the Warden receives payment for work in the election, subject to
applicable state and federal law. The City of Boston agrees to maintain a record of each
failure to complete and sign the checklist.
Dissemination of Minority Language Information
18. The City of Boston agrees to disseminate
all bilingual election information, materials, and announcements produced hereunder (whether
in Spanish, Chinese or Vietnamese) to the same extent and on comparable terms as they are
disseminated by the City in English, including distributing said bilingual election information,
materials, and announcements in newspapers, radio, and/or other media that exclusively or
regularly publish or broadcast information in Spanish, Chinese, or Vietnamese, as appropriate.
Such election information and materials, except for ballots, need not be identical in all
respects to English-language materials, but shall be in the form, frequency, and media best
calculated to achieve notice and understanding equal to that provided to the English-speaking
population and to provide substantially the same information.
19. The official ballot and absentee ballots
shall continue to be provided bilingually in English and Spanish or, on any electronic voting
machine, shall be readily available in Spanish as an option. Any audio version of the ballot
on such machines shall be available in English and Spanish. Beginning January 1, 2006, official
and absentee ballots shall also be provided bilingually in Chinese and English and Vietnamese
and English, and on any electronic voting machine shall be readily available in Chinese and
Vietnamese as an option, consistent with this Agreement. Any audio version of the ballot on
such machines shall be available in Chinese and Vietnamese, as well as in English and Spanish.
20. Beginning with elections after January 1, 2006,
the City agrees to provide ballots bilingual in English and Chinese and/or English and
Vietnamese as agreed in Paragraph 19 above at each of the polling places staffed with at
least one Chinese-speaking election officer (in the case of English-Chinese ballots) or
Vietnamese-speaking election officer (in the case of English-Vietnamese ballots) as describe
in Paragraph 9(a) and (b) above, the number of such ballots to be equal to the number of Chinese
or Vietnamese surnamed registered voters, as appropriate. After each election, the parties will
evaluate whether the English and Chinese and English and Vietnamese bilingual ballots should
be distributed to additional or different polling places, and make appropriate changes. For
the November 8, 2005 City election, the City agrees to produce and affix a sample or facsimile
ballot, as nearly identical in size and layout to the official ballot, in the Chinese language
inside each voting booth in the polling places identified in Paragraph 9(a)(1) - (4) above and
in Vietnamese inside each voting booth in the polling places identified in Paragraph 9(b)(1) - (4)
above. The City agrees to solicit the assistance of the Advisory Task
Force in the production of said sample ballots.
21. To the extent the City of Boston provides
sample ballots in English to voters who request them, the City of Boston shall also provide
sample ballots in Spanish to voters who request them. For the November 8, 2005 Citywide
election, the City also agrees to the extent it provides sample ballots in English to use
its best efforts to provide sample ballots in Chinese and Vietnamese in similar fashion to
voters who request them, and agrees to provide such sample ballots on the same basis as for
English for all elections thereafter.
City Elections Language Coordinator
22. The City of Boston agrees to employ an
individual to coordinate the City's minority-language election programs (the "City Elections
Language Coordinator") for all elections administered in whole or in part by the City of Boston.
The employment of a permanent City Elections Language Coordinator consistent with the City's
employment procedures shall be completed no later than January 1, 2006, and in the interim
the Election Department will consult with the Office of New Bostonians and the linguistics
liaisons of Neighborhood Services to address the needs as enumerated in this Paragraph. The
City of Boston further agrees to provide the City Elections Language Coordinator with all
the support necessary to meet the goals of the Program. The City Elections Language Coordinator
shall work under the supervision of the Chair of the Election Department. The City Elections
Language Coordinator's oversight responsibilities shall include: training of bilingual election
officers; recruitment and assessment of the minority-language proficiency of bilingual election
officers and interpreters; coordination of translation of election information, including
the Election Department's website; development of an election glossary to insure uniform use
of election terminology in Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese; development, selection and
oversight of minority-language media and other election notices, announcements and information,
including effective notices of poll site information and voter assignments; and managing other
aspects of the Program. To accomplish these tasks, the City shall appoint from among the
members of the Mayor's Advisory Task Force a Community Liaison for each of the three language-minority
communities covered by this Agreement -- the Spanish-speaking community, Chinese-speaking
community, and Vietnamese-speaking community. The City of Boston further agrees to assign a
full-time City employee, fully familiar with the election process within the City of Boston, who
speaks Spanish to work with the Spanish Community Liaison, a comparable City employee who
speaks Chinese to work with the Chinese Community Liaison, and a comparable City employee
who speaks Vietnamese to work with the Vietnamese Community Liaison. These employees
shall assist the Community Liaisons in conducting outreach to their respective communities and
partner with the Liaisons in aiding the City Elections Language Coordinator's achievement of his
or her responsibilities.
Advisory Task Force
23. The City Elections Language Coordinator
and each Community Liaison shall be members of the Mayor's Advisory Task Force that has been
established to coordinate and assist efforts of the City of Boston to address concerns of the
City's language-minority groups, including concerns relating to the distribution and
dissemination of bilingual election materials. To fully effectuate this Agreement and to
serve effectively and efficiently the varying needs of each covered language-minority group,
the designated Community Liaison shall be fully able to read, write, and speak fluently the
language of the language-minority group he or she has been appointed to represent. The
Community Liaison, along with his or her City employee counterpart whenever possible,
shall meet periodically with interested individuals and organizations that work with or
serve that Community Liaison's particular covered minority-language group in the City of
Boston to receive comments, input and guidance on how more effectively the City might be
able to provide election materials, information, and assistance to those minority-language
voters, and to publicize the City's minority-language election programs.
Said meetings shall occur at least monthly through 2006, and as frequently thereafter as the
Community Liaison determines is necessary to insure that the language-minority community
served is being heard and its comments, input and guidance are being fully considered by the
Mayor's Task Force. The Advisory Task Force shall meet regularly throughout the year to
review with the City Elections Language Coordinator and the Community Liaisons the City's
performance under this Agreement, and to consider comments and recommendations made by
the City Elections Language Coordinator and the Community Liaisons. At least one such
meeting of the Task Force shall occur within 45 days of any city, state or federal election
administered by the City, following which the City Elections Language Coordinator shall provide
a written summary to the Mayor, the Chair of the Election Department, and all members of the
Task Force of the discussion and any decisions reached at the meeting. Said written summary
shall include a statement of reasons supporting any decision made by the Chair of the Election
Department not to implement a Task Force suggestion regarding any particular voting practice or
procedure.
24. The City of Boston agrees to transmit, by
electronic mail, facsimile or other means, to all interested persons and organizations,
copies of all bilingual election information, announcements, and notices that are provided
to the electorate and general public, together with an election glossary containing accepted
election terminology in Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese, and request that they share such
information with their members, clientele, and representative language-minority groups. The
Election Department shall maintain a separate list of persons and organizations interested
in receiving materials and information in each language.
Evaluation of Plan
25. The parties to this Agreement recognize
that regular and ongoing cooperation and reassessment may be necessary to provide the most
effective and efficient bilingual election program. The City of Boston therefore agrees to
evaluate each bilingual program after each election (e.g., following the 2005 preliminary
election) to determine which aspects of such programs are functioning well, whether any
aspects need improvement, and, if improvements are needed, how to address them. The Department
of Justice shall be available to meet with the City of Boston following each election to share
information it learns through its federal examiners, and to assist the City of Boston in its
ongoing assessment of its bilingual election program. This Agreement may be adjusted at any
time upon written agreement of the parties.
Retention of Documents and Reporting Requirements
26. During the duration of this Agreement, the
City of Boston agrees to make and maintain written records of all actions taken pursuant to
this Agreement, and to make copies of such records available to the Department of Justice upon request.
27. During the duration of this Agreement, at
least 30 days before each election held in whole or in part within the City of Boston, the
City of Boston agrees to provide to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division,
Department of Justice, or his designee, a list of polling places to be used for such election,
the precincts voting at each such polling place, the number of election officers to be appointed
and assigned to serve at each polling place who are bilingual and the language(s) spoken by each
such officer, and an electronic copy of the list of registered voters for such election, as
known at that time. Within 30 days following certification of election results for each
election, the City of Boston agrees to provide to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil
Rights Division, Department of Justice, or his designee, any updated report regarding the
aforesaid polling information, and further to advise said Department official
on all complaints the City of Boston received before, on, or after election day concerning
language or voter assistance issues. Unless otherwise specified, or as may be changed from time
to time, all reports, notices or any other written communications required to be submitted under
this Agreement shall be sent to the undersigned counsel at the Department of Justice, at the
following address:
Voting Section
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. - NWB-7254
Washington, D.C. 20530
Facsimile: (202) 307-3961
E-mail: John.K.Tanner@usdoj.gov
Preliminary Measures for the September 27, 2005 Preliminary Election
28. Given the limited amount of time between
execution of this Agreement and the September 27, 2005 preliminary election, this Paragraph
sets forth the City of Boston's obligations for that election and that election only. The
other provisions of this Agreement will apply to all future elections, commencing with the
November 8, 2005 final election, or as soon as otherwise provided in this Agreement, through
expiration of this Agreement. The City of Boston shall undertake the following initial,
reasonable, and practicable steps for the September 27, 2005 preliminary election:
Bilingual Election Officers
(a) While the City of Boston shall make best efforts to recruit and hire the number of
bilingual, Spanish-speaking, Chinese-speaking, and Vietnamese-speaking election officers set
forth in Paragraphs 8(a) - (d), 9(a)(1) - (4), and 9(b)(1) - (4) above, the City of Boston agrees to
appoint at least one Spanish-speaking election officer to each polling place in the City of Boston
with 100 or more Spanish-surnamed registered voters; at least one Chinese-speaking election
officer to each polling place with 35 or more Chinese-surnamed registered voters; and at least
one Vietnamese-speaking election officer to each polling place with 30 or more Vietnamese-surnamed
voters. The parties recognize the time constraints and appreciate the challenges
involved in meeting the appointment goals set forth in this Paragraph and agree to meet and
confer on a frequent basis to facilitate achievement of these requirements, and make adjustments,
if necessary.
Election Officer Training
(b) Prior to the September 27, 2005 preliminary election, the City of Boston
agrees to continue its existing training for all election officers to be respectful and
courteous to all voters regardless of race, ethnicity, or language abilities, and to provide
provisional ballots to those voters who are eligible to vote by provisional ballot.
(c) The City of Boston further agrees to instruct its wardens and bilingual
election officers during election officer training that the bilingual election officers must
be available to assist voters needing language assistance at all stages of the voting
process - including at the sign-in table, during voting demonstrations, and while voting at
the voting booths. The City of Boston also agrees to include in its instruction of all its
election officers that voters needing language assistance may be given assistance by a person
of the voters' choice consistent with and as limited by Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act,
and that all applicable state law prohibitions against campaigning in or near the polls shall
be enforced.
Signs and Ballots
(d) Signs in English and Spanish shall be posted prominently at all polling
places in the City of Boston, indicating that Spanish-speaking assistance is available by a
telephone in the polling place.
(e) Signs in English and Chinese shall be posted prominently at those polling places
identified in Paragraph 9(a)(1) - (4) stating that Chinese-language assistance is available, if in
fact the particular polling place has bilingual staff, or explaining how voters can obtain assistance
in Chinese if there is no bilingual election officer present.
(f) Signs in English and Vietnamese shall be posted prominently at those polling
places identified in Paragraph 9(b)(1) - (4) stating that Vietnamese-language assistance is
available, if in fact the particular polling place has bilingual staff, or explaining how voters can
obtain assistance in Vietnamese if there is no bilingual election officer present.
(g) The City of Boston shall continue to provide a bilingual ballot in English and
Spanish to each of the City's polling places. As time and circumstances permit, the City of
Boston shall also use its best efforts to produce and affix a sample or facsimile ballot, as nearly
identical in size and layout to the official ballot, in the Chinese language inside each voting booth
in the polling places identified in Paragraph 9(a)(1) - (4) above and in Vietnamese inside each
voting booth in the polling places identified in Paragraph 9(b)(1) - (4) above. The City agrees to
solicit the assistance of the Advisory Task Force in the production of said sample ballots.
Other Provisions
29. This Agreement is final and binding between
the parties and their successors in office regarding the claims raised in this action. This
Agreement shall remain in effect through December 31, 2008. Either party may move this Court
for such orders as may be necessary for the effectuation of the terms of this Agreement and to
ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
30. Each party shall bear its own costs and fees.
Agreed to this _15th__ day of __September____, 2005.
AGREED TO
For UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
For CITY OF BOSTON:
_______/s/__________________
__________/s/____________________
BRADLEY J. SCHLOZMAN
WILLIAM BRADFORD REYNOLDS
Acting Assistant Attorney General
Howrey LLP
Civil Rights Division
1299 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004-2402
(202) 383-6912
_______/s/__________________
__________/s/__________________
JOHN TANNER
MERITA A. HOPKINS
Chief
Corporation Counsel
CHRISTOPHER COATES
City of Boston
Principal Deputy Chief
Boston City Hall
SUSANA LORENZO-GIGUERE
Room 615
Special Counsel
Boston, MA 02201
JAMES D. WALSH
(617) 635-4017
ABEL GOMEZ
ALBERTO RUISANCHEZ
Attorneys
Voting Section
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530
(202) 514-6346
Updated July 25, 2008
