Bilingual voting will alter local politics

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Monday, Dec. 17, 2001 | 9:38 a.m.

Political analysts say changes recently announced by the Clark County Election Department to allow Spanish-speaking voters to cast ballots in their native language will transform local politics -- but exactly how much depends on whom you ask.

The changes include publishing voting guides and sample ballots in Spanish and buying bilingual voting machines, making the county one of dozens around the country undergoing such a transformation.

Bilingual balloting will be in place as early as next September's primary elections.

"The political implications are diverse and interesting," said Ted Jelen, political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Most Hispanics register as Democrats, but they are not very predictable in their voting patterns, since they have been voting for less time than other population groups and have formed fewer ties to either party, Jelen said.

"Removing the linguistic barrier most certainly will lead to more Hispanics voting, and really, this could be a potential gold mine for both parties," he said.

Census Bureau data shows that the county has slightly more than 1 million people of voting age. About 191,000, or 18.7 percent, are Hispanic.

About 70,000 Hispanics are registered to vote in Clark County, Andres Ramirez, chairman of the Nevada Hispanic Democratic Caucus, said. About two-thirds are Democrat, one-quarter are Republicans and a little more than 5 percent are Independent.

Liz Carrasco, executive director of the Nevada Democratic Party, said the move to bilingual balloting favors Democrats.

"We've been doing outreach to the Hispanic community all along, but didn't have the balloting in Spanish to back it up," Carrasco said.

"We've seen that many of the Hispanics who are moving here and becoming citizens are working class, and our party is for the worker, so the Election Department is only favoring us with this," she said.

Bob Seale, chairman of the Nevada Republican Party, said that his party will continue an aggressive outreach campaign to the Hispanic community, including materials in Spanish.

"At the same time, it will be no small feat winning over the Hispanic electorate, with (Democratic Party) registration patterns being what they are," Seale said.

Ramirez, who also is a political consultant, said balloting in Spanish will make the Hispanic electorate feel more included and give Hispanics more clout in upcoming elections -- especially as more Hispanic candidates run for office.

The highest-profile Hispanic candidate on next year's ballot is Dario Herrera, who will be running for the newly drawn 3rd Congressional District.

"In the short term, the move to bilingual balloting could help Herrera's campaign," Jelen said.

"First off, party registration in his district is even. Second, it looks like a boring, very incumbent-friendly election, with Kenny Guinn running for re-election as governor. Third, off-year elections tend to have low voter turnout.

"So if this move helps to increase Hispanic participation, and with Herrera being a Democrat and Hispanic, then it could definitely benefit his campaign."

Carlos Bloomberg is another Hispanic candidate on next year's slate, a Democrat running for Assembly District 29.

Bloomberg said that increased Hispanic participation won't necessarily lead to increased support for Hispanic or Democratic candidates.

"I think it's a mistake to assume that Hispanics in Clark County will vote as a block in any one campaign," he said.

There are groups within the community, such as the county's roughly 10,000 Hispanics of Cuban decent, that tend to vote Republican, Bloomberg said.

Larry Gonzalez, director of the Washington office of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, said that a look at elections nationwide shows that the jury is still out as far as party lines among Hispanics.

"Look at the recent mayoral elections in New York," he said.

"Four out of 10 Hispanics voted for (Michael) Bloomberg, a Republican, despite being registered as Democrats -- because they felt the Democratic candidate wouldn't help them in the long run.

"This shows that Hispanics will cross party lines if they feel the candidate is better," he said.

In California, which has offered bilingual balloting for at least two decades, the Hispanic vote has proved crucial.

Bilingual balloting was important in the 1996 and 1998 congressional races won by Democrat Loretta Sanchez in Orange County's 46th District, Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Southwest Voter Education Registration Project, said. The project has registered hundreds of thousands of California Hispanics in the past 20 years.

The 1996 race, in particular, was close and controversial. It was decided by fewer than 1,000, votes and incumbent Robert Dornan challenged the results, losing officially a year later.

"Half the population is Hispanic in this district, and Santa Ana, the county seat, is more than 70 percent Hispanic and mostly immigrant. So there's no doubt that many recently naturalized citizens there voted in Spanish," Gonzalez said.

"The point is, there could be races in the near future in Las Vegas with many of the same characteristics, and they could show the same outcome."

Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax is enthusiastic about the 150 to 200 bilingual voting machines with touch screens, similar to bank ATM machines, that the department will be purchasing.

But he said he doesn't expect everyone else to share his enthusiasm.

"People are already calling in saying they're against the whole thing," Lomax said.

"Some say, how can these people be citizens and not speak English? Others say that English should be the only language used in America and voting in another language will send the country to hell."

But Lomax insisted such comments show an incomplete understanding of several issues -- including what it means to be a citizen.

The official points to the Immigration and Naturalization Service's guide to naturalization, which says that immigrants must demonstrate "(the) ... ability to read, write and speak ... simple words and phrases ... in ordinary usage in the English language."

Candidate names on the ballot are not the main problem for voters who are not proficient in English, Lomax said. Ballot questions pose the most difficulty.

"I think 40 percent of native English speakers have trouble understanding these questions," he said.

"Until you've sat through the whole process of drafting these questions, you can't imagine how contentious each word is, and how important it is to understand each word and comma."

But Clark County has reasons beyond just wanting to help voters understand the complex questions. Federal law mandates that counties with more than 5 percent or 10,000 residents who speak a second language must have balloting provided in that language.

The Census Bureau will compile a list of which counties fit the criteria by the end of next year, and Lomax is sure Clark County will be on it.

"We're just getting a jump on something we would have to do by law anyway," Lomax said.

Robert Kominski, assistant chief at the population division of the Census Bureau, said that initial Census 2000 figures show that the number of Americans nationwide who said they speak Spanish at home has gone up 50 percent between 1990 and 2000, from 7 percent of the population to 10 percent.

"This means a lot of counties will have to provide balloting in Spanish that didn't before," the official said.

Secretary of State Dean Heller, Nevada's top election official, said that if bilingual balloting in Clark County shows more Hispanic participation, he will urge other counties to follow suit -- starting with Washoe and Douglas counties.

Heller said balloting in languages other than English, especially Spanish, is one of the top five issues his counterparts are tackling across the nation.

"So although Clark County is to be applauded for taking the first step, it definitely won't be alone," he said.