• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
  • Videos
    • Featured Video
    • Foodie Friday
    • Monthly ReCap
  • Online E-Editions
    • This Week’s E-Editions
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
  • Social Media
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
  • Advertising
  • Local Jobs
  • Puzzles & Games
  • Circulation Request

The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

       

Click to join our weekly e-newsletter

  • Home
  • News
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills/East Pasco
    • Business Digest
    • Senior Parks
    • Nature Notes
    • Featured Stories
    • Photos of the Week
    • Reasons To Smile
  • Sports
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills and East Pasco
    • Check This Out
  • Education
  • Pets/Wildlife
  • Health
    • Health Events
    • Health News
  • What’s Happening
  • Sponsored Content
    • Closer Look
  • Homes
  • Obits
  • Public Notices
    • Browse Notices
    • Place Notices

Pasco exempt from publishing bilingual voting materials

November 2, 2011 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Eugenio Torrens

Within the last decade, Pasco County has noticed its Hispanic population surge.

Currently, 11 percent — or one in every nine people — of the county is Hispanic. Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act stipulates that if 5 percent of the voting age population is of a certain ethnicity, then voting material must be published in the native language of that demographic.

The U.S. Department of Justice exempted Pasco from that requirement since the county’s Hispanic population met or exceeded the minimum literacy rate. Thus, voting materials only have to be published in English.

Pasco Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley said this shouldn’t change anything drastically, and that it will save the county money.

“The only real concern that we had would be from a financial standpoint,” Corley said. “We’ve had to cut our budget 28 percent in the last four years, and it’s been quite a challenge as you might imagine.

“By implementing this, this would have in essence, would have been an unfunded mandate from the federal government to the tune of $75,000 in additional outlay, plus tens of thousands of dollars each election,” Corley said. “It’s easier on the wallets of the taxpayers.”

“We have an obligation, and a legal one at that, to assist all voters,” Corley added. “We have a long tradition of accommodating all voters, and that won’t change.”

If Pasco did have to publish Spanish voting materials, the only obvious change would have been in amendments, where the Spanish text would have been underneath the English text.

“The concern would have been that it would have caused our ballot, at an absolute minimum, to go to two pages and that’s where really the cost comes into play,” Corley said.

With two-plus page ballots, Corley said reconciling all the material that is sent out on absentee ballots could be problematic — people may send only the part of the ballot that corresponds to them, i.e. the English part of the ballot or Spanish part of the ballot.

The U.S. Department of Justice ruling affects only voting materials published at the county level.

“However, things that affect statewide, for example (amendments), albeit they will not be bilingual on the ballot, but the division of elections at the state level will be required to provide to the counties, i.e. my office, translated materials for things like voter application, or those proposed amendments, which we will have at a polling place,” Corley said.

Hillsborough County was not ruled exempt from Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, which means it will continue to publish voting materials bilingually.

Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Earl Lennard said there are Spanish-speaking poll workers at voting sites where there is a larger percentage of Hispanic voters. He said ballots for the 2010 primary, published in English and Spanish, cost 23 cents apiece.

The county uses Spanish speakers to write the Spanish interpretation of English ballots.

“Sometimes that can get pretty tricky because various dialects are different,” Lennard said. But he added, “It’s always a concern, but thankfully it has not been an issue.”

One other big difference between the two counties is that Hillsborough is a preclearance county, meaning Hillsborough has to take certain steps Pasco doesn’t.

Hillsborough is required to notify the Department of Justice when a polling site may no longer be available in order to switch to a new site. But before Hillsborough can switch to that new site, the county has to be cleared by the Department of Justice.

For both counties, voting procedures should stay almost unnoticeably different.

“It’s one word: education,” Corley said. “What you have is, you have an increase in population — those folks are educated individuals, which is obviously always a good thing.”

For more information on voting in Pasco, visit pascovotes.com. For more information on voting in Hillsborough, visit www.votehillsborough.org.

 

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Reddit
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Sponsored Content

WAVE Wellness Center — Tampa Bay’s Most Advanced Upper Cervical Spinal Care

September 5, 2023 By Mary Rathman

Tampa Bay welcomes WAVE Wellness Center, a state-of-the-art spinal care clinic founded by Dr. Ryan LaChance. WAVE … [Read More...] about WAVE Wellness Center — Tampa Bay’s Most Advanced Upper Cervical Spinal Care

Only a Few Homes Remain — It’s Your Final Chance to Build Your Home in Del Webb Bexley

August 29, 2023 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Time is running out on your chance to live at Del Webb Bexley. We’ve built the ideal active adult community to suit your … [Read More...] about Only a Few Homes Remain — It’s Your Final Chance to Build Your Home in Del Webb Bexley

More Posts from this Category

What’s Happening

09/28/2023 – Lectures on the Lawn

The Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center, 12118 Lake Blanche Drive in Odessa, will host its series “Lectures on the Lawn” starting with Craig Pittman, author of “Oh Florida” on Sept. 28. There will be food trucks and exhibits from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Pittman’s presentation at 6:30 p.m. Guests can bring their own chairs. No outside food or drinks. Admission is free. For information, call 727-815-7126, or visit PascoLibraries.org. … [Read More...] about 09/28/2023 – Lectures on the Lawn

09/29/2023 – Teacup Fairy Garden

The Zephyrhills Public Library, 5347 Eighth St., will host a thrifty craft project for adults on Sept. 29 at 9:30 a.m. Participants can make a teacup fairy garden. Registration is required. Call 813-780-0064 for more information. … [Read More...] about 09/29/2023 – Teacup Fairy Garden

09/29/2023 – Worship Concert

The Cathedral of Worship and Praise Center will present “The Wonder of Worship Concert” on Sept. 29 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, 8550 Hunters Village Road. Admission is free. For information, call 813-943-9773, or visit TheCathedralOfWP.com. … [Read More...] about 09/29/2023 – Worship Concert

09/30/2023 – Great Discoveries

The Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center, 12118 Lake Blanche Drive in Odessa, will host Charles Zidar, executive director of MAPS, for a lunch adventure, on Sept. 30 at noon. Participants can hear a talk on ancient Greek and Roman cultures, while museum artifacts are brought to your table as you eat. There will be a second session on Oct. 7 at noon to discuss ancient Mayan culture. Tickets are $28 plus taxes and fees, which includes lunch and the presentation. Tickets can be purchased at bit.ly/45yx47C. … [Read More...] about 09/30/2023 – Great Discoveries

10/03/2023 – Drawing Workshop

The Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center, 12118 Lake Blanche Drive in Odessa, will host a Drawing Workshop: Exquisite Corpse, on Oct. 3 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., as part of its Museum + Art Series. Participants can learn about the exquisite corpse drawing method and create a drawing inspired by surrealist artists. Registration is required; call 727-815-7126. To learn more, visit MOMA.org/collection/terms/exquisite-corpse. … [Read More...] about 10/03/2023 – Drawing Workshop

10/03/2023 – Halloween Games/Crafts

The Land O’ Lakes Library, 2818 Collier Parkway, will host Teen Halloween Games and Crafts on Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m., for ages 13 to 17. Supplies will be provided. For information, call 813-929-1214. … [Read More...] about 10/03/2023 – Halloween Games/Crafts

More of What's Happening

Archives

 

 

Where to pick up The Laker and Lutz News

Copyright © 2023 Community News Publications Inc.

   
%d bloggers like this: