Asian Americans Advancing Justice – California Applauds Gov. Brown for Signing AB 918 into Law
Civil Rights Organizations Encouraged that California WIll Now Be Nationwide Leader on Ensuring Voting Access for All Eligible Voters
Media Contacts:
Christina So, 415-848-7728, christinaso@advancingjustice-alc.org
Sacramento, CA – Asian Americans Advancing Justice – California (Advancing Justice-CA) applauds Governor Brown for signing the California Voting for All Act (AB 918) into law today. Authored by Assemblymember Rob Bonta and sponsored by our two organizations, AB 918 will make California the nationwide leader in ensuring access to democracy for eligible voters in immigrant communities.
California is home to the most limited-English speaking residents in the nation. Yet for over half a million of them, current state law has failed to provide them with equal access to the ballot. Existing language access requirements are not sufficient to provide meaningful language assistance to voters who are limited-English proficient.
AB 918 received support from a wide range of civil rights organizations, voting rights, and civic engagement groups who are all encouraged that as California continues to diversify, the state is working to make its democracy more inclusive and more accessible.
“Now that AB 918 is signed, no state in the nation does more than California to ensure access to voting for limited-English speaking immigrant voters,” said Jonathan Stein, Voting Rights Staff Attorney and Program Manager at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus. “The bill makes translated ballots and bilingual poll workers accessible to a wide range of language communities and makes some translated materials available to vote by mail voters for the first time.”
“We thank Assemblymember Bonta and Governor Brown for standing up for the needs of our communities,” said Deanna Kitamura, Voting Rights Project Director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles. “From our polling, we know limited English proficient voters use translated materials when they are accessible. This bill will help voters vote an informed ballot.”
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ABOUT ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE – CALIFORNIA
Advancing Justice – CA is a partnership between Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (Advancing Justice – ALC) in San Francisco and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (Advancing Justice – LA).