County agrees to accommodate Spanish-speaking voters

The Kane County government must accommodate Spanish-speaking voters at the polls under an agreement reached Tuesday between the county and the U.S. Department of Justice, which sued the county for violating the federal Voting Rights Act.

The federal lawsuit stemmed from difficulties that surfaced in largely Hispanic areas of Dundee Township during the November 2006 election. Spanish-speaking voters were disenfranchised that day because many polling places -- most in Dundee Township -- failed to open on time, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund argued then.

A judge that day ordered all polls to stay open an additional 90 minutes, but the immigrant rights groups said many Hispanic voters never got the chance to cast a ballot.

To make sure Hispanic voters were able to exercise their right to vote in the April elections, U.S. Department of Justice officials monitored polling places in Carpentersville and Dundee Township.

It was during this observation they determined the county had failed to provide an adequate number of bilingual election judges as required by law. The county also failed to translate "certain election-related information" for Spanish-speaking voters, the suit states.

County Clerk Jack Cunningham, who oversees elections, said he and his staff were "very busy implementing the (Help America Vote Act)" and other new requirements, so "perhaps we didn't keep this (accommodating Spanish speakers) at the top of the priority list."

The agreement approved by the county board in a special session Tuesday -- in which the county admits no liability -- essentially settles the lawsuit. In it, the county agrees to provide Spanish-speaking translators who can be consulted in person at the polling places or called on the phone. Spanish speakers also can bring their own interpreters into the voting booth.

The county board voted 13-5 to authorize a yet-to-be-determined amount of money to fulfill the terms of the agreement.

"We're going to have a real outreach program," Cunningham said.

Federal observers will continue monitoring county elections for the duration of the agreement, which remains in effect through 2010.