Attorney: Natalie Landreth
Case Update
In partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union, NARF filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that Alaska (through its agents the Lieutenant Governor and the Division of Elections, among others) have violated the Voting Rights Act by failing to provide language assistance to the thousands of Yup`ik speaking voters in the Bethel Census Area. The first claim is under Section 203 of the VRA, which requires that jurisdictions covered by the Act provide oral and written assistance sufficient to enable the voter to cast a meaningful ballot.
While the languages covered (meaning those for which the State has to provide assistance) varies statewide to correspond to the number of people who speak that language, in the Bethel Census Area, the covered language is Yup`ik. However, as the complaint alleges, there is little to no oral language assistance provided and absolutely no written assistance provided to the Yup`ik voter. The second claim is under Section 208 of the VRA which provides that a voter who needs help reading and writing may bring anyone they like into the voting booth to help them cast a ballot. The complaint was filed on June 11 but shortly thereafter the District Court denied a motion to convene a three-judge court. Currently both sides are conducting discovery and depositions have been scheduled for November. Plaintiffs plan to file for a preliminary injunction in time to allow the Defendants ample time to make election changes for the November 2008 election, should the Plaintiffs win any relief.
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