Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 4312 - Voting Rights Improvement Act of 1992

(Senate)
(Serrano (D) New York and 68 others)

The Administration supports enactment of H.R. 4312.

However, the Administration would support an amendment to increase from 10,000 to 20,000 the threshold at which bilingual voting assistance (i.e., campaign literature and ballots) would be required. (The bill generally would require assistance in jurisdictions with more than 10,000 voting-age citizens who are members of a single-language minority and limited-English proficient.)

The 20,000 level would reach the majority of individuals who need language assistance but are not now receiving it. The 10,000 level would increase the number of affected jurisdictions without proportionally increasing the number of individuals benefitted. This would unduly burden the smaller jurisdictions.