WA Legislation
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© 2005 OCA-Greater Seattle

OCA - GREATER SEATTLE CHAPTER

EMBRACING THE HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS OF CHINESE AND ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS IN THE UNITED STATES

HB Bill 2594
On February 13th, the House of Representatives approved Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2594 which was introduced on the House floor by Representative Bob Hasegawa. A senate amendment will NOT be necessary!

Link to Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2594:

Link to track the progress of the bill:

The bill provides the following.

1. Creation of a task force to effectuate the legislature's intent to enact section 203 of the voting rights act which is designed to increase voter participation for single-language minority groups by providing bilingual voting materials and assistance when the county population that speaks the language reaches a critical threshold.

2. Permits any citizen who requires translation assistance to have a translator accompany him/her to vote, provided the translator is not the voter's employer or union representative.

3. Encourages counties to make reasonable efforts to appoint elections staff and poll workers who are bilingual in English and a minority language and to place any bilingual poll worker in a geographic area the person can best serve citizens who speak the language.