Wisconsin election officials, activists, work to protect Latino right to vote

As Latino voters become a larger share of Wisconsin's electorate, activists and election officials are working to protect their right to vote.

Forward Latino, a non-partisan civic organization, announced Friday the launch of its Mi Voto Cuenta” (My Vote Counts) Campaign, which will provide voter outreach and legal services to Latino voters across the state.

The organization will also send election observers to six municipalities across the state, where Spanish-speaking voters have the right to translation. The communities are both big and small: Abbotsford, Arcadia, Curtiss, Milwaukee, Sharon and West Milwaukee

Under the Voting Rights Act, municipalities with a significant population of non-English speakers must supply translated ballots and election materials. This applies when either there are greater than 10,000 individuals or greater than 5% of the voting-age population who are language minority citizens.

That requirement is new as of December for three Wisconsin municipalities, where the Latino population has grown significantly in the last decade.

Carol Devine, village clerk of Curtiss, said she learned her community was subject to this law about a month ago when a non-profit representative contacted her office. The Clark County village is looking into the requirements, she said, but the clerk's office hasn't started printing new, translated election materials.

"Not for this election," Devine said. "We're looking into it. Because then I reached out to the county clerk, and I asked if she knew anything about it. And she said she hadn't really heard about it."

Curtiss has a Latina board member, Devine said. And many Spanish-speaking residents who come into the clerk's office communicate via translation apps on their phone, she said.

In the City of Milwaukee, where Hispanic and Latino residents make up nearly 20% of the population, election officials have three bilingual staff members.

The city prints all its ballots and election materials in both English and Spanish. City officials also analyze surname data to determine which wards need bilingual poll workers.

"For us, it's pretty straightforward being in a bigger city, having a larger, full-time staff," said Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission. "I think what we're seeing is there's now smaller communities being subject to those requirements."

The village of West Milwaukee has been looking to the City of Milwaukee for guidance and bilingual support, Woodall-Vogg said.

The village of Sharon is another community updating its election materials for Spanish-speaking voters. The translation process began in April, said Jaymie Kunkel, deputy village clerk.

Election postings and voter registration are available in Spanish, Kunkel said. The village's ballot machine can't read Spanish ballots, Kunkel said, but interpreters will be available on-site.

Forward Latino plans to contact more than 66,000 eligible Latino voters in the state, providing information about registration, voting location and photo ID. The organization will also offer legal assistance to anyone who feels they have been wrongly denied access to their polling place.

At a panel discussion about the Latino vote on Wednesday, Darryl Morin, president of Forward Latino, said proponents of election security should also be concerned about voting accessibility.

"Everyone's making a big deal: 'Got to do it legally, got to do it legally,'" Morin said. "Well, they should be paying equal attention to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to make sure that everyone is afforded the information in the language that they're most comfortable."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin election official, activists, push for Latino voter support