LatinoJustice PRLDEF and GALEO Send Letters to Gwinnett County Municipalities Seeking Compliance with Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act

July 21, 2017 (Atlanta, GA)– LatinoJustice PRLDEF and the Georgia Association a Latino Elected Officials (GALEO), sent joint Notice Letters and Georgia Open Records Act Requests this week to the Gwinnett County Board of Elections and all municipalities within Gwinnett County, to remind all municipalities within Gwinnett County to adhere to the mandates required under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which require the County and every municipality within the county to provide Spanish language election information, materials and assistance.  Section 203 of the VRA mandates that election officials and staff in the covered jurisdiction must provide language assistance including, “any registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, or other materials or information relating to the electoral process, including ballots.” After LatinoJustice and GALEO sent joint letters on October 27, 2015 and Nov. 5, 2015 and subsequent advocacy by LatinoJustice PRLDEF to the U.S. Department of Justice, Gwinnett County was recently designated as a county required to provide access to Spanish language translation and materials in compliance with Section 203 of the VRA on Dec. 5, 2016.  Gwinnett County, and every municipality within the County, now has an immediate legal obligation to provide all voting materials in both English and Spanish.