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Asian American Voters Continue to Face Discrimination and Improper Voter ID Checks
from AALDEF Press Release
1/17/07
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), reported that Asian American voters continued to face obstacles to voting. Based upon its work at 172 poll sites in nine eastern states around the November 2006 elections, AALDEF published a new report on this subject.
In a multilingual exit poll of over 4,700 Asian American voters. AALDEF received more than 200 complaints of voting barriers. They included:
- Poll workers made improper or excessive demands for identification–often only from Asian American voters–and misapplied HAVA’s ID requirements. In Boston, an interpreter appointed by the Elections Department required all Chinese-speaking voters to show IDs before they could receive a translated ballot; none of the English-speaking voters were similarly asked for their IDs.
- Poll workers hindered voter access to interpreters and translated voting materials required under the Voting Rights Act. In New York, Chinese American voters were given Spanish-language ballots.
- Asian American voters’ names were missing or incorrectly transcribed in voter lists at poll sites. HAVA requires that these voters be offered provisional ballots, but poll workers denied voters this right. In New Jersey, poll workers told Asian American voters to go to the Borough Clerk’s office.
- Poll workers were unable to direct voters to their proper poll sites or precincts. In Philadelphia, one voter was driven to tears after being sent to several places and given no correct addresses. In New York, a husband and wife were improperly sent to different lines at different election districts within the same poll site.
AALDEF sent complaint letters to local election officials that detailed these voting obstacles and offered recommendations for improvements. AALDEF staff attorney Glenn D. Magpantay said, “Our findings demonstrate that vigorous enforcement of the Voting Rights Act is still needed.”
AALDEF's findings will contribute to documents in two challenges to the constitutionality of voter identification requirements, Crawford v. Marion County Election Board and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita.
AALDEF works with numerous national and local co-sponsors in conducting its polls.
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