Advancing Justice-Atlanta Continues to Seek Language Access for Asian American Voters across Georgia
STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2021
CONTACT:
James Woo, Advancing Justice - Atlanta, 404-585-8446
ATLANTA, GA — On Wednesday December 8, the United States Census Bureau released a list of jurisdictions across the country that are now covered under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act based on new census data. Section 203 requires election officials in covered jurisdictions to provide bilingual voting assistance to limited English proficient (LEP) Asian Americans, Latinos, American Indians, and Alaskan Natives. In Georgia, Gwinnett County remains the sole jurisdiction covered under Section 203, and it is still only mandated to provide voting assistance in English and Spanish, despite being home to over 138,000 Asian Americans, 33% of whom are LEP.
The Asian American community population in Gwinnett County, which comprises over 12% of the population, fell short of meeting the Section 203 threshold in spite of compelling data that demonstrates its need for language assistance in voting.
27.3% or of Gwinnett County’s population is foreign-born
This is more than double the rate in Georgia: 10.3%
And about double the rate in the United States: 13.7%
Of the foreign-born population, 34% is from Asia
47% is from Latin America
For years, Advancing Justice-Atlanta has pushed at both the local and federal level for language access Asian American communities. In February 2021, Advancing Justice-Atlanta presented before the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners and Gwinnett County Board of Elections, demanding they voluntarily provide election materials in at least one Asian language to better serve the voters in their county. After much debate, Gwinnett County has promised to take this crucial step.
"It's time for the U.S. Census Bureau to reevaluate their methods of calculating the threshold for mandating translated voter materials. Despite all of the Asian American community's growth – in population and as civically engaged residents of Georgia, we continue to be left out of democracy's equation," says LaVita Tuff, Policy Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta.
With over 160,000 LEP voters in Georgia, state and local election officials cannot overlook this issue. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both won their elections by margins smaller than the 160,000 LEP Georgia voters denied access to translated materials. During the 2018 midterm elections, more than 270,000 unaccommodated LEP voters lived in 20 of the country’s most contentious congressional districts, such as Georgia’s 7th Congressional District or Salt Lake County, Utah. In nearly all of them, the number of eligible LEP voters was greater than the estimated difference in vote share.
Advancing Justice-Atlanta celebrates the addition of Section 203 jurisdictions mandating translated materials in some areas across the country. Yet in Georgia, the vast majority of LEP voters continue to be denied access to the resources they need to fully participate in democratic processes. Advancing Justice-Atlanta will continue to push for local and state election officials to view Section 203 as the floor and not the ceiling. When it comes to Georgia’s voters, Section 203 does the bare minimum. Georgia leaders must do more.
Note: An earlier version of this press release incorrectly stated that 44% of Gwinnett County's AAPI population is LEP.
