Natalie Landreth, with the Native American Rights Fund, left, and Jason Brandeis, with the American Civil Liberties Union, talk about the lawsuit filed in federal court on behalf of Alaska Native voters in the Bethel area during a news conference in Anchorage on June 11, 2007. The lawsuit filed by the Native American Rights Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska sought to have state and regional election officials provide oral and written voter assistance to Yup'ik-speaking voters in the Bethel area. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)
The state has settled a lawsuit brought by Yup'ik elders and tribal councils in Western Alaska demanding that the Division of Elections provide ballots and other election materials in Yup'ik.
The Attorney General announced the settlement today. The Native American Rights Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit in 2007, suing the state and the city of Bethel.
Lawyers for the elders argued election officials were violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by failing to provide Yup'ik speaking voters with ballots and other paperwork they could understand in the ballot booth.
“We are extremely pleased the state of Alaska will provide Yup'ik-speaking voters in the Bethel area with the tools they need to fully participate in the political process,” said NARF senior staff attorney Natalie Landreth, according to the joint announcement today. “That is what this case was all about – equal access to the polls.”
UPDATE: I just talked to Landreth, who said the judge approved the settlement on Tuesday -- the day the trial was supposed to begin.
The agreement applies to all state-conducted elections in the Bethel Census area, she said. “It’s from the coast all the way up to Aniak.”
Under the settlement, according to the Department of Law, the Division of Elections will:
-- Train bilingual poll workers to provide language assistance to voters.
-- Coordinate language assistance through a bilingual staff person with a toll-free number.
-- Rely on Yup'ik language experts to translate election materials, including information on ballot measures, candidates, absentee and special-needs voting and voter registration.
-- Prepare a Yup'ik-English glossary of election terms and phrases to guide bilingual poll workers providing language assistance.
-- Provide sample ballots in Yup'ik.
-- Generate pre-election publicity in Yup'ik through radio ads, television programs and public service announcements, including announcements over VHF radios in villages that do not receive regular radio broadcasts.
-- Undertaking outreach to the villages in the census area.
| Attachment | Size |
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| Nick.Final Settlement.NARF & ACLU.10.02.19.pdf | 114.59 KB |
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