PENNSYLVANIA Counties increase efforts to help Spanish voters

A federal investigation of alleged voter harassment has prompted the changes.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Next month's primary will cater to Pennsylvania's growing Hispanic population as never before, as more and more counties provide bilingual ballots, Spanish-language materials and translators at the polls.
Many municipalities with significant Hispanic populations are increasing efforts to accommodate those voters in light of last year's order by a federal judge that Berks County print its ballots in both English and Spanish.
Lehigh County, for instance, will use bilingual ballots for the first time this year. The county will provide them in the 25 districts where more than 4 percent of voters are Hispanic and don't use English as their primary language.
"We basically did very little before, other than have assistance at the polling places," said Betty Hillwig, the county's director of elections and voter registration.
Plans to have translators
Her department recently hired a part-time bilingual coordinator and plans to have a bilingual polling worker at each district where that is needed for the April 27 primary.
A federal investigation of alleged harassment of Hispanic voters in Berks County in southeastern Pennsylvania has increased pressure on the state and counties to accommodate Hispanic voters. Federal agents said poll workers there asked Hispanics for identification documents they shouldn't have been required to produce, and made frequent discriminatory and hostile remarks.
"That was certainly something that sparked our interest," said Brian McDonald, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State, which last week sent letters to all 67 counties asking them to show a good-faith effort to cater to Hispanic voters.
According to 2000 census figures, more than 394,000 Pennsylvania residents reported that they were of Hispanic origin, about 3 percent of the population. Philadelphia and a band of four counties in the eastern part of the state -- Monroe, Northampton, Berks and Lehigh -- saw Hispanic populations climb by more than 6 percent in the last decade.
Berks and Philadelphia counties are the only ones required to have bilingual ballots, McDonald said. But Lehigh, Lancaster, Adams, Chester, Northampton and York either have done so or are considering it.
Officials in Lancaster County are increasing the number of polling places where they provide bilingual ballots. The county offered them in 41 districts in the past and this year they will be added in 10 more districts, said Mary Stehman, chief clerk of the board of elections.
Another part of the challenge is finding enough translators. "I've gone to the public school system. I've gone to the local Spanish churches and I've gone out in the community," Stehman said.
Federal law
The federal Voting Rights Act requires a city, county or state to provide language assistance to voters if more than 5 percent of voting-age citizens speak a primary language other than English.
In York County, elections officials are exploring the idea of bilingual ballots and looking into getting a bilingual coordinator. The county has a handful of bilingual polling workers and is looking for more, said John Scott, director of the board of elections.
Northampton County expects to have bilingual ballots in some areas by 2006, said Linda Arcury, chief registrar of elections.
Hispanic activists say they are pleased with the progress so far and hope more can be made in the coming years.
"I think that it's going to be a big push," said Julio Guridy, a Hispanic community activist who is also an Allentown city councilman. "People across the state should be learning from other counties that are being proactive."