2024 Language Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes

Marin County Elections Department
Language Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting (LAAC)
April 16, 2024, 2:30 PM
Virtual (Zoom) Meeting

Minutes

Attendees

Aashika Srinivas, Asian Americans Advancing Justice / Asian Law Caucus
Yolanda Barahona, Community Action Marin
Lynda Roberts, Registrar of Voters
Colleen Ksanda, Sr. Program Coordinator (Vote Centers / Election Workers)
Greg Hayes, Elections Logistics Manager

Welcome

Lynda Roberts opened the meeting and thanked everyone for their participation.

March Election Update

The election ran very smoothly—there were no significant issues. Marin County’s turnout was just over 53%, which was relatively low; however, the turnout statewide was low.

Election Worker / Vote Center Review

• Overall, there was a good turnout of workers that spoke Marin County’s three required languages: Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese
• Of the 145 election workers, 40 spoke Spanish, 7 spoke Chinese, and 1 spoke Vietnamese
• The number of workers that could speak Chinese significantly increased for the March election; however, it is still difficult to recruit workers who speak Vietnamese
• We had four 11-day vote centers plus sixteen 4-day vote centers and one Election Day only vote center, which was at the Albert Boro Community Center
• The Albert Boro Community Center has been an established polling place for over 20 years but was not able in March to serve as a multi-day vote center. However, the department wanted to continue serving the Spanish- and Vietnamese-speaking communities in this area so set-up the vote center for Election Day only
• In order to serve the Canal community for multiple days, the department set-up a 4-day vote center at the Health and Human Services Wellness Center; the Boro Community Center remained more popular on Election Day—nearly double the number of voters used the Community Center
• The department will use both the Community Center and Wellness Center again in the November election
• If numbers of voters at the Wellness Center increase significantly in the future, the department may move away from using the Community Center since it is only available on Election Day
• Setting-up the Boro Community Center for only one day was a significant amount of work that had to be accomplished the evening before Election Day, which was the only time the room was available, but set-up went smoothly

Outreach

Outreach efforts for the March election followed the model used in the 2022 election cycle. The outreach team plans to refresh the materials for the November election.

Observers

Aashika Srinivas reported that the Asian Americans Advancing Justice / Asian Law Caucus had observers visit 20 of Marin County’s vote center locations. They found that workers were helpful and friendly, facsimile ballots were available, and the multi-lingual signs were posted. Auxiliary aides (magnifying glasses and signature guides) were readily available at about 50% of the locations. It is recommended that the aids are available so voters aren’t required to ask. Ms. Srinivas will be submitting a full report to the Elections Department.

Comments

Yolanda Barahona, Community Action Marin, reported that some people have mentioned they feel more comfortable voting because of the language assistance that is available.

Ms. Ksanda mentioned that in addition to bi-lingual workers, the department provides copies of the Easy Voter Guide that is published in Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese by the League of Women Voters.

Ms. Srinivas mentioned that AAAJ may be able to assist with finding bi-lingual workers if the department needs help.

Next Meeting

The next quarterly meeting will be July 16, 2:30-3:30 via Zoom.

The meeting adjourned at 3:10 PM.

Marin County Elections Department
Language Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting (LAAC)
January 16, 2024, 2:30 PM
Virtual (Zoom) Meeting

Minutes

Attendees

Sietse Goffard, Asian Americans Advancing Justice / Asian Law Caucus
Aashika Srinivas, Asian Americans Advancing Justice / Asian Law Caucus
Mo de Nieva-Marsh, Community Action Marin
Yolanda Barahona, Community Action Marin
Lynda Roberts, Registrar of Voters
Danny Straub, Outreach Coordinator

Welcome

Lynda Roberts opened the meeting and thanked the members for their participation.

Outreach Events – Asian Americans Advancing Justice / Asian Law Caucus

Sietse Goffard reviewed their outreach efforts that include non-partisan workshops for community groups and nonprofits, new citizens, first time voters, people who speak different languages, and those who want to learn more about their options and rights. The AAAJ / ALC is scheduling a lot of these workshops around the area to help inform voters in a non-partisan way about what is on the ballot – it helps to break down the local candidates and issues.

The AAAJ / ALC youth workshop focused on rights to vote and history of voting rights in the country; attendees provided good feedback.

AAAJ / ALC has translated versions of “know your voting rights” documents and can help with translations. They can collaborate and adapt events to community needs. Information is on their website: https://www.advancingjustice-alc.org/

Mo de Nieva-Marsh said Community Action Marin can also be partners in community outreach—in person and virtual.

Outreach Update

Danny Straub reviewed outreach efforts for the March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary Election.

• Partnering with Hearst Digital Media to display ads on popular websites, including SF Gate, in required languages (Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese). This strategy was new for the November 2022 election to help meet language-targeted outreach requirements.
• Printed material will be translated into Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese; the outreach team will canvass the county to ensure lobby materials are displayed.
• The outreach team plans to attend community events such as farmer’s markets and the Probation Department’s community check-in.
• The outreach team is working with the League of Women Voters of Marin on a registration drive in the county jail. This is a first-time effort, which will be educational and then the team will follow-up with delivering ballots.
• The second required pre-election mailer will be sent soon and will include the list of vote center and drop box locations and hours. Because this is a party-based election for presidential primary candidates, the voter’s party will be printed on the inside of the card.
• Community engagement opportunities: Attended the county’s participatory budget process event in Marin City; planning to accompany the Health & Human Services Department to meet unhoused people living at Binford Road.
• Ads are currently being displayed on buses.
• Public TV is running a PSA for nonpartisan voters to let them know about their options for voting in the primary election.

Comments:

Yolanda Barahona mentioned that schools may provide outreach opportunities at family advocate meetings. School districts also have a District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC), which includes Spanish speaking families with bilingual community liaisons that work for families. Community Action Marin can discuss this at some point with the Elections Department.

Review VCA Report on Race and Ethnicity

Lynda Roberts briefly reviewed race and ethnicity data for the 2022 primary election from a report created by the University of California, Los Angeles, Voting Rights Project for the Secretary of State. The data goes to the precinct level and can be used to see which communities need to be included in designing outreach efforts.

March Election Key Dates

• January 25: Mailing of voter information guides begins
• February 5: Mailing of ballots begins
• February 5: In-person voting starts at Elections Office
• February 6: Official mail ballot drop boxes open
• February 24: Four vote centers open, including Elections Department
• March 2: Sixteen additional vote centers open
• March 5—Election Day: All 21 vote centers open
• Vote center and drop box locations and hours of operation are posted online
• All vote centers are open 7 AM to 8 PM on Election Day
• The notice for observers will be posted by the end of January

Lynda Roberts mentioned that the number of voters signed up for BallotTrax (the free ballot tracking service provided by the Secretary of State) remains at 32%. She asked for ideas about why people might not be signing up even though the department consistently promotes the service. Members suggested that many people drop their ballot in an official drop box, which gives them a sense of security about their ballot being delivered.

Student Election Ambassador Presentation

Caroline Foster, member of the Student Election Ambassador Program—a program sponsored by the Marin County Elections Department, Marin County Office of Education, and the League of Women Voters of Marin—talked about her outreach work with young people in the elementary to middle school age group.

Since the Fall of 2022, she has been making school presentations to elementary and middle school students about voting and turnout. She is looking for ways to expand the project and reach more marginalized students.

Mo de Nieva-Marsh can help Caroline or other student ambassadors connect with her network. She’s happy to meet in person or virtually to talk more about it.

Closing Remarks/Next Meeting

Lynda Roberts thanked everyone for participating. The next quarterly meeting will be April 16, 2:30-3:30 via Zoom.

The meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.