Department of Justice Seal Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2004
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
CRT
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SETTLES VOTING RIGHTS LAWSUIT WITH SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK


WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that it has entered into a consent decree with Suffolk County, New York, settling allegations that the county had violated the voting rights of Spanish-speaking voters.

Federal law requires that jurisdictions with a substantial minority-language voter population, provide certain voting materials, such as ballots, registration or voting notices, forms, instructions or other materials, in the minority language as well as in English. According to determinations made by the Census Bureau, Suffolk County must provide these materials in Spanish. The government’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleged that the county failed to do so.

“The law requires that these materials be provided in Spanish. Today's agreement holds Suffolk County to that obligation,” said R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. “The Justice Department remains committed to ensuring equal ballot access for all eligible voters.”

"Suffolk County’s Hispanic citizens, including its Spanish language minority citizens, should not be excluded from participation in the electoral process because of language barriers,” said Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “We are pleased that Suffolk County has agreed to provide these voting materials and give its Spanish language minority citizens equal access to the electoral process.”

The consent decree, which still must be approved by a three judge federal court, requires that the county translate certain voting materials into Spanish, investigate and remove poll workers who have engaged in hostile treatment of Spanish-speaking or Hispanic voters, and train poll officials on the requirements of the Voting Rights Act. The Justice Department will be permitted to monitor future elections to ensure compliance with the consent decree.

In announcing this agreement, officials of the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said that they were encouraged by recent steps that Suffolk County has taken to address the issues identified in the lawsuit. U.S. Attorney Mauskopf said, “Even before entering the decree, the County had begun to take steps to identify the needs and communication channels of the Hispanic community in Suffolk. Such outreach is the cornerstone of a successful program under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. We look forward to working with Suffolk County officials to promptly achieve the County's compliance with the consent decree and Section 203.”

The Civil Rights Division has launched a major initiative to ensure the compliance by each jurisdiction covered under the minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Civil Rights Division entered an agreement with the Brentwood School District in 2003, also protecting Spanish-speaking voters in Suffolk County. Since January 2004, the Division has announced agreements protecting Spanish-speaking voters in San Benito County, CA; Vietnamese-speaking voters in Harris County (Houston), Texas; Navajo and Pueblo voters in Cibola and Socorro Counties, New Mexico and Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese-speaking voters in San Diego County, California.

To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931 and the Civil Rights Litigation unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (718) 254-7000. More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/index.htm.

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