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Goal Statement   

• To increase minority political participation and representation in elected local government positions.

Policy Options / Program Models   

• Bilingual voter materials and election outreach: Election ballots, voter registration forms, election announcements, and voter education materials in the language of a district’s minority population(s). 

• District Elections: An elections system in which a voting jurisdiction is divided into smaller voting districts, concentrating minority populations in certain districts. Voters elect candidates based upon their district, ensuring minority representation in government.

• Cumulative Voting: Elections system where each voter has multiple votes to distribute among the candidates for each position on the ballot.

• Limited Voting: Electors receive fewer votes than there are candidates (e.g. 3 votes for a 4 member city council) all elected positions are elected at the same time and candidates win by plurality, not majority.

• Voter education programs: Programs in which a government or nongovernmental entity (community organizations, nonprofits, schools) conducts community education programs pertaining to voting and related issues (i.e. reading the ballot, voting regulations, etc.).

• Better election records programs: Keeping detailed and organized records of election results, precinct results, and voter rolls for all local elections in a permanent database. 

Local/State/National Information  

• Minority Voting Rights - USA

• Minority Voting Rights - Washington State

  • Minority Voting Rights - Yakima Valley, WA

  • Minority Voting Rights - Pasco, WA

  • Minority Voting Rights - Walla Walla, WA

Glossary of Terms   

• At-Large Elections: For a candidate who runs for an at-large position on a city council, everyone in the city would be able to vote for that position. If the position was not at-large, but instead a district position, then only voters living in the corresponding district of the city would be able to vote for that position.
• Election system: The set of rules and regulations governing the process by which voters elect candidates in elections. This includes whether candidates run only in their district of residence or in the voting jurisdiction at large, the method that voters use to select candidates (e.g one vote for each position versus multiple votes or ranking all the candidates according to preference), and the percentage of votes required for election victory.
• Election results: Usually includes both the number and percentage of the total votes received by each candidate.
• Latino Voter: For the purposes of voting rights research, a voter is designated as Latino if their surname is included in a list of Hispanic surnames generated from the U.S. Census.
• Minority Vote Dilution: when a minority group votes as a bloc for a candidate of their choice, but is out-voted by a majority group which also votes as a bloc; occurs in “winner-take-all, at-large” elections where “racially polarized voting” happens; minority votes do not translate into minority representatives.
• NALEO: National Association for Latino Elected Officials, conducts studies of elections and nationwide Latino political representation
• Non-Latino voter: Voters whose surnames do not fall under the list of Hispanic surnames generated by the U.S. Census.
• Precinct results: Usually includes both the number and percentage of the votes in a particular precinct received by each candidate.
• Precinct: Most cities divide voters into geographic districts known as precincts, or sometimes election districts. In places that have polls, each precinct would have its own polling place.
• Racially Polarized Voting: voters of a particular racial group tend to vote in a bloc, usually for a candidate of the same race.
• Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act: requires jurisdictions showing evidence of “minority vote dilution” to change from “winner-take-all, at-large” elections to district elections.
• Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act: requires counties and states with particular levels of non-English speaking citizens and illiterate voters to make elections bilingual through non-English voting materials and outreach to the affected minority group.
• Voter rolls: A list of all registered voters in a county, including information for each voter on their assigned precinct and whether or not they voted in any given election.