Padilla

A provision of the federal Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973aa-la(c), requires that, in certain States with substantial linguistic minority populations of voting age, election materials must be provided in the applicable minority languages as well as English. This requirement applies to any covered State or political subdivision that “provides any ... materials or information relating to the electoral process.” Id. (emphasis added). The question presented by this appeal is whether this requirement attaches to recall petitions initiated, circulated and paid for by private proponents of a recall, when the proponents are required to draft the petitions in a form specified by the State and county.

We conclude that § 1973aa-la(e) does not apply to such recall petitions because they are not “provide[d]” by the State or its subdivision. We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court, which rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to a recall election triggered by petitions circulated only in English.

BACKGROUND

The recall petitions at issue were initiated by defendant Vivian Martinez and others, who sought to recall Santa Ana Unified School District Board Member Na-tivo Lopez.…

concurring.

The plain meaning of the language of the Voting Rights Act compels me to concur in the result reached by the majority, because neither the State of California nor the County of Orange “provided” the recall petition at issue in this case. Rather, as the majority holds, the petition was funded, drafted, printed, and circulated — i.e., provided — by the private proponents of the recall, although in conformance with the relevant provisions of the California Elections Code. In view of the unambiguous provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 1973aa-la(c), that is all the majority needs to say. Instead of stopping when it is ahead, however, the majority continues on and seeks to support its decision on practical and policy grounds. I write separately because I disagree with the additional justifications it advances. Also, I wish to note my agreement with the dissent regarding an important issue not reached by the majority: There can be no doubt that recall petitions “relate to” the electoral process.

I strongly disagree with the majority’s statement that its construction of the statute, in addition to being compelled by the statutory language, is supported by “sound practical reasons.”…

dissenting.

I respectfully dissent. I read section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973aa-la, to require the translation of recall petitions circulated in areas with significant limited-English proficient voter populations. In this case, the purpose of the Voting Rights Act was undermined when the recall petitions were printed only in English and limited-English proficient voters were deprived of their right to fully understand a petition they were solicited to sign.

I. The Voting Rights Act of 1964

In 1975, Congress amended the Voting Rights Act to include section 203, which requires certain jurisdictions to provide bilingual voting materials. See 42 U.S.C. § 1973aa-1a; Zaldivar v. City of Los Angeles, 780 F.2d 823, 826 (9th Cir.1986), overruled on other grounds by Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp., 496 U.S. 384 , 110 S.Ct. 2447 , 110 L.Ed.2d 359 (1990). Section 203’s broad remedial purpose was directed at a problem that continues to confront many United States citizen immigrants. Specifically, their “inability or limited ability to read English obviously thwarts any attempt to knowledgeably participate in the electoral process.” H.R.Rep. No. 102-655, at 3 (1992). It…

BACKGROUND

The recall petitions at issue were initiated by defendant Vivian Martinez and others, who sought to recall Santa Ana Unified School District Board Member Nativo Lopez. Pursu- ant to California Elections Code section 11000 et seq., the proponents drafted and printed (in English) a Notice of Inten- tion to Circulate Recall Petition, which included a statement of the grounds for recall. The proponents filed the Notice with the Orange County Registration and Elections Department and a copy was served on Lopez. In response, Lopez filed an Answer (also in English) with the County Elections Depart- ment and served copies on the recall proponents.

The recall proponents then drafted a recall petition in accordance with the California Elections Code and the regula- tions of the California Secretary of State. The recall petition included a request to hold an election to replace Lopez, the Notice of Intention (including a statement of the reasons for the recall), and Lopez’s Answer. Except for Lopez’s Answer (which he drafted), the recall proponents drafted the contents of the Recall Petition, adhering to the requirements and for- mat specified by the Secretary of State. This…