Massachusetts: Springfield settles with DOJ over Hispanic voting assistance
The Springfield Republican reports: Averting a legal showdown between the city and the federal government, Mayor Charles V. Ryan has agreed to speed up voting reforms to help more Spanish-speaking residents register and vote in city elections.
Under an agreement reached yesterday with the U.S. Justice Department, the city will hire 57 bilingual poll workers, appoint an Hispanic voting coordinator, allow federal election monitors and make translators and other services available beginning with the Sept. 19 primary elections.
For the November election, the city must hire 95 bilingual poll workers, compared with 37 that staffed last year's municipal election. Overall, the city employs 384 poll workers on election day, spread out over 64 precincts.
The agreement comes four weeks after the Justice Department filed suit against the city, accusing it of discriminating against Spanish-speaking voters by failing to provide enough assistance at the polls. City officials acknowledged that local efforts fell short of requirements set by the Voting Rights Act, but said there had been considerable progress in recent months. -- Voting rights suit settled