[EL] Nothing unusual here?

[Justin Levitt]

I'm not sure which laws implicated in the story are "new and relaxed."  
And I think what Richard was suggesting is that if the concern is that 
the only available translators are Democrats, the Republicans might want 
to find themselves a Somali translator.  If your mom speaks Somali, and 
feels like translating, good for her -- I'm not aware that translators 
have to be citizens under the law.

By the numbers cited in the story (which I've not confirmed), there are 
in Ohio at least 18000 American citizens of Somalian descent. At least 
6750 of them have limited English proficiency.  And they have to parse 
(among other things) a redistricting initiative 
<https://vote.franklincountyohio.gov/voter/ballots/SAMPLE_0036.pdf> that 
spans three columns of the ballot if they want to exercise their civic 
responsibilities.

They have come to the polls, received materials protected by the First 
Amendment outside of an electioneering zone, and sought to vote 
according to the governing federal and state laws, including a federal 
law permitting translation assistance at the polls that has been 
enforced by both Democratic and Republican administrations at the DOJ 
<http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/litigation/recent_208.php>.

Whether any of this activity is unusual depends entirely on where you 
live and who you hang out with, I suspect.  But there's nothing in the 
report that I can see that leads to any conclusion that there's anything 
unlawful.  Maybe "what's going on here" is citizens expressing their 
right to vote for their representatives.  I'm not suspicious of that 
sort of thing during an election.

Justin

On 10/27/2012 10:36 AM, Steve Hoersting wrote:
> Yes, Richard: My Mom is a Canadian. She "works for", such as it is, 
> "the Republican side."
>
> She doesn't vote, however. And no one picks her up in a van.
>
> Trying honestly to determine what is going on here... in a State 
> everyone agrees is the battleground... voting under new and relaxed 
> voting laws,
>
> Steve
>
> On Sat, Oct 27, 2012 at 1:16 PM, Richard Winger 
> <richardwinger at yahoo.com <mailto:richardwinger at yahoo.com>> wrote:
>
>     The Ohio Republican Party or the Romney campaign probably has the
>     resources and ability to find Somali-speaking persons who would
>     work for the Republican side, especially if there are that many
>     Somali-speakers in Ohio.
>
>     Richard Winger
>     415-922-9779 <tel:415-922-9779>
>     PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147
>
>     --- On *Sat, 10/27/12, Steve Hoersting /<hoersting at gmail.com
>     <mailto:hoersting at gmail.com>>/* wrote:
>
>
>         From: Steve Hoersting <hoersting at gmail.com
>         <mailto:hoersting at gmail.com>>
>         Subject: [EL] Nothing unusual here?
>         To: law-election at uci.edu <mailto:law-election at uci.edu>
>         Date: Saturday, October 27, 2012, 10:09 AM
>
>
>         http://www.humanevents.com/2012/10/26/is-voter-fraud-being-committed-in-ohio/
>
>         -- 
>         Stephen M. Hoersting
>
>
>         -----Inline Attachment Follows-----
>
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>
>
>
> -- 
> Stephen M. Hoersting
>
>
>
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-- 
Justin Levitt
Associate Professor of Law
Loyola Law School | Los Angeles
919 Albany St.
Los Angeles, CA  90015
213-736-7417
justin.levitt at lls.edu
ssrn.com/author=698321

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