[EL] Nothing unusual here?

Sat Oct 27 12:56:35 PDT 2012

Stepping back for a moment, I think it is important to examine some background assumptions here.  Some commentators, and some government officials, see fraud every time large numbers of persons with limited English vote.  They question whether such persons are really U.S. citizens -- or alternatively, sometimes (and to be clear, I am not accusing Steve Hoersting of this) whether such persons are "real" citizens, regardless of their legal status.  For instance, the Republican elected official in Ohio who is the author of the Human Events story sent around to the list writes "The logical follow-up question is whether a non-English speaking person is an American citizen."  That "question" is what makes it into the headline about fraud -- it's much more explosive than complaints about the translators.

The view that non-English speakers are of questionable citizenship will probably never go away completely.  But when poll workers or government officials share this view, it can result in disenfranchisement.  This view has always been part of the basis on which some argue for English-only elections.  When Congress outlawed English-only elections elections in 1975 (in areas with many language minority citizens, through Section 203), part of the message Congress intended to send was that citizens with limited English exist -- and they are indeed full citizens, like all others.  Congress found that "voting discrimination against citizens of language minorities" -- that is, "minority citizens...from environments in which the dominant language is other than English" -- was "pervasive and national in scope." Sec. 203(f)(1).

I'll be interested to see any evidence that (1) non-citizens are listed on the rolls in Ohio -- or (2) that impersonation fraud is occurring.  Absent any evidence of either of these things -- the first of which at least ought to be very easy to detect -- I think we can correctly diagnose the problem here as the usual questioning of the citizenship of citizens with limited or no English who have the temerity to vote.

Joey

Joseph Fishkin
Assistant Professor
University of Texas School of Law
727 E. Dean Keeton St., Austin, TX 78705
jfishkin at law.utexas.edu

On Oct 27, 2012, at 1:39 PM, Richard Winger wrote:

> These Somalis must sign in under penalty of perjury that they are citizens.  They are leaving a paper trail; we can know who among these group voted, and any of them who aren't citizens will be in big legal trouble.  It would be a personal catastrophe for any Somali who has established a life in Ohio to be deported back to Somalia.
> 
> If there is a fear that these people aren't aware of the law, it would be desirable that community leaders in the Somali Ohio community publicize the law in the language that the members would be able to read, of course.  Ohio election administration is headed by a Republican Secretary of State.  He is an elected official and he has the ear of the press.  He is very capable of communicating with leaders of the Somali community in Ohio to encourage leaders of the community to publicize Ohio law.
> 
> Richard Winger
> 415-922-9779
> PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147
> 
> --- On Sat, 10/27/12, Steve Hoersting <hoersting at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> From: Steve Hoersting <hoersting at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [EL] Nothing unusual here?
> To: "Justin Levitt" <levittj at lls.edu>
> Cc: law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
> Date: Saturday, October 27, 2012, 10:59 AM
> 
> Justin, respectfully, the questions are these:
> 
> 1) How many of those persons in the story are citizens who can vote?
> 
> And 2) if any are voting who aren't citizens -- eligible under current law because they present a Columbia-Gas bill to an Ohio election worker and check a box -- will be disqualified before the losing candidate in a tight contest concedes the election?
> 
> Really, this is an election-law list to which we're posting. Don't say you don't understand the issues at stake, the importance of momentum in the closest battleground, or the importance of margins.
> 
> If this were a list of, say, auto enthusiasts or of pinochle, I would understand,  and most likely agree with, your wrap-yourself-in-the-flag retort. Given the context, however, it won't do.
> 
> Cordially,
> 
> Steve
> 
> On Sat, Oct 27, 2012 at 1:43 PM, Justin Levitt <levittj at lls.edu> wrote:
> 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 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.
> 
> 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> 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
>> PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147
>> 
>> --- On Sat, 10/27/12, Steve Hoersting <hoersting at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> From: Steve Hoersting <hoersting at gmail.com>
>> Subject: [EL] Nothing unusual here?
>> To: 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
>> 
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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
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> Stephen M. Hoersting
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