Voting Rights Act Amendments of 2006, Determinations Under Section 203

AGENCY:

Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice of determination.

SUMMARY:

As required by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, this notice publishes the Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) Director's determinations as to which political subdivisions are subject to the minority language assistance provisions of the Act. As of this date, those jurisdictions that are listed as covered by Section 203 have a legal obligation to provide the minority language assistance prescribed by the Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This notice is effective on December 5, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information regarding this notice, please contact Mr. James Whitehorne, Chief, Census Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office, Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce, Room 4H057, 4600 Silver Hill Rd, Washington, DC 20233, by telephone at 301-763-4039, or visit the Redistricting & Voting Rights Data Office Internet site at http://www.census.gov/rdo/.

For information regarding the applicable provisions of the Act, please contact T. Christian Herren, Jr., Chief, Voting Section, Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice, Room 7254-NWB, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20530, by telephone at (800) 253-3931 or visit the Voting Section Internet site at https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In July 2006, Congress amended the Voting Rights Act of 1965, now codified at Title 52, United States Code (U.S.C.), § , 10301 et seq. (See Pub. L. 109-246, 120 Stat. 577 (2006)). Among other changes, the sunset date for minority language assistance provisions set forth in Section 203 of the Act was extended to August 5, 2032.

Section 203 mandates that a state or political subdivision must provide language assistance to voters if more than five (5) percent of voting age citizens are members of a single-language minority group and do not “speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process” and if the rate of those citizens who have not completed the fifth grade is higher than the national rate of voting age citizens who have not completed the fifth grade. When a state is covered for a particular language minority group, an exception is made for any political subdivision in which less than five (5) percent of the voting age citizens are members of the minority group and are limited in English proficiency, unless the political subdivision is covered independently. A political subdivision is also covered if more than 10,000 of the voting age citizens are members of a single-language minority group, do not “speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process,” and the rate of those citizens who have not completed the fifth grade is higher than the national rate of voting age citizens who have not completed the fifth grade.

Finally, if more than five (5) percent of the American Indian or Alaska Native voting age citizens residing within an American Indian Area, as defined for the purposes of the decennial census, are members of a single language minority group, do not “speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process,” and the rate of those citizens who have not completed the fifth grade is higher than the national rate of voting age citizens who have not completed the fifth grade, any political subdivision, such as a county, which contains all or any part of that American Indian Area, is covered by the minority language assistance provision set forth in Section 203. For the 2010 Census, American Indian areas and Alaska Native Regional Corporations were identified by the federally recognized tribal governments, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and state governments. The Census Bureau worked with American Indians and Alaska Natives to identify statistical areas, such as Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Areas (OTSA), Tribal Designated Statistical Areas (TDSA), State Designated Tribal Statistical Areas (SDTSA), and Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas (ANVSA).

Pursuant to Section 203, the Census Bureau Director has the responsibility to determine which states and political subdivisions are subject to the minority language assistance provisions of Section 203. The state and political subdivisions obligated to comply with the requirements are listed in the attachment to this Notice.

Section 203 also provides that the “determinations of the Director of the Census under this subsection shall be effective upon publication in the Federal Register and shall not be subject to review in any court.” Therefore, as of this date, those jurisdictions that are listed as covered by Section 203 have legal obligation to provide the minority language assistance prescribed in Section 203 of the Act. In the cases where a state is covered, those counties or county equivalents not displayed in the attachment are exempt from the obligation. Those jurisdictions subject to Section 203 of the Act previously, but not included on the list below, are no longer obligated to comply with Section 203.