SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In July 2006, Congress amended the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Title 42, United States Code (U.S.C.), 1973 et seq. (See Pub. L. 109-246, 120 Stat. 577 (2006)). Among other changes, the sunset date for minority language assistance provisions set forth in Section 203 of the Act was extended to August 5, 2032.

Section 203 mandates that a state or political subdivision must provide language assistance to voters if more than five (5) percent of voting age citizens are members of a single-language minority group and do not “speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process” and if the rate of those citizens who have not completed the fifth grade is higher than the national rate of voting age citizens who have not completed the fifth grade. When a state is covered for a particular language minority group, an exception is made for any political subdivision in which less than five (5) percent of the voting age citizens are members of the minority group and are limited in English proficiency, unless the political subdivision is covered independently. A political subdivision is also covered if more than 10,000 of the voting age citizens are members of a single-language minority group, do not “speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process,” and the rate of those citizens who have not completed the fifth grade is higher than the national rate of voting age citizens who have not completed the fifth grade.

Finally, if more than five (5) percent of the American Indian or Alaska Native voting age citizens residing within an American Indian Reservations (and off-reservation trust lands) are members of a single language minority group, do not “speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process,” and the rate of those citizens who have not completed the fifth grade is higher than the national rate of voting age citizens who have not completed the fifth grade, any political subdivision, such as a county, which contains all or any part of that Indian reservation, is covered by the minority language assistance provision set forth in Section 203. An American Indian Reservation is defined as any area that is an American Indian or Alaska Native area identified for purposes of the decennial census. For the 2010 Census, these areas were identified by the federally recognized tribal governments, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and state governments. The Census Bureau worked with American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives to identify statistical areas, such as Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Areas (OTSA), State Designated Tribal Statistical Areas (SDTSA), and Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas (ANVSA).

Pursuant to Section 203, the Census Bureau Director has the responsibility to determine which states and political subdivisions are subject to the minority language assistance provisions of Section 203. The state and political subdivisions obligated to comply with the requirements are listed in the attachment to this Notice.

Section 203 also provides that the “determinations of the Director of the Census under this subsection shall be effective upon publication in the Federal Register and shall not be subject to review in any court.” Therefore, as of this date, those jurisdictions that are listed as covered by Section 203 have legal obligation to provide the minority language assistance prescribed in Section 203 of the Act. In the cases, where a state is covered, those counties or county equivalents not displayed in the attachment are exempt from the obligation. Those jurisdictions subject to Section 203 of the Act previously, but not included on the list below, are no longer obligated to comply with Section 203. The previous determinations under Section 4(f)(4) of the Voting Rights Act remain in effect and are unaffected by this determination. (See Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, part 55, Appendix (2010)).