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TESTIMONY OF JUAN CARTAGENA PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL, LATINOJUSTCE PRLDEF BEFORE THE U.S HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMTTEE ON HOUS ADMNSTRATION, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTONS REGARDNG VOTNG RGHTS AND ELECTONS ADMINISTRAON IN FLORIDA FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORDA 6 MAY 2019 TO THE HON. MARCAL FUDGE, CHAIRPERSON, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTONS And MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELEIONS On behalf of LatinoJustce PRLDEF I tank Representative Fudge and the members of te Subcommttee on Eectons for nvtng me to testfy on the mportant subject of voting rights n the State of Florda Whe it s safe to say tat ful compliance with voter protections in any State, incuding Forida, s aways a tmely and ctical endeavor, ths topc, and ndeed tis hearng, is comng at an opportune tme for democracy n ths State Demograpc growth, and te cangng racia and ethnc composition of the State, along with an expanded eectorate created by canges n State law
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that belies decades of concerted practices to mnmize the vote of eligibe voters make Florda an mportant batteground for Voting Rghts Act compiance Latinoustce PRLDEF (formerly known as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund) is a natonal civil rgts, public interest law organzaton that represents Latinas and Latinos troughout the country in ltgaton and advocacy, and works to ncrease ther entry into te lega professon For over ten years we have actively tgated voting rigts cases in Forda and for fve years we ave had a Southeast Regona Offce n Orando. In my capacty as Presdent & General Counsel have personally ltgated Section 2 Voting Rgts Act cases and Natona Voter Regstration Act cases in federal courts ere in Florda and I supervse a current case under Secton 4(e) of the Voting Rigts Act against 32 counties n this State Fnally, ave engaged in eection protection efforts n several countes n Florida as wel to ensure compance wth Voting Rghts Act protections for Puerto Rican and other Latno voters Demorac Chanes and Contested Elections n Florida Florda occupies a unque place in recent years with respect to eection administraton and the energy and zea tat voters exert in the State Muc of that reputation stems from ts boomng
1 The passage of Amendment 4 of he Florida consituon via pbic refeendm in November 208 is a miesoneevent in voing rights hat LatnoJstce PRLDE applads as we were pat of he eot o secue s passage. Resoring the voe to he fomey ncarcerated is a ongstanding goal of ous and whie I have been asked to focs pmaly on anguage assisance n voing fo his esimony (ohes direcly in he leadeship of secung Amendmen ou's passage have been invited o tesfy today and defer o them gady) wecome any qestons the Sbcommtee may have on his historic expanson of the eigibe eecoate as wel
LATINOJUSTICE PRLDEF 475 iversde ve, 19th floo ew York Y 10115
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population growth and the fact that in partisan terms it is a closey divided State This atter point is important not from the ens of Repubicans versus Democrats -LatinoJustice is a nonpartisan taxexempt organization but for the mere fact that close elections pace inordinate pressures on eection administrators and are often the fue that ignites Voting Rights Act abuses Forida is now the third most populous State in America with an estimated popuation of 213 milion behind Caifornia and Texas and just outpacing New York.
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Over the ast year Forida had the second argest numeric growth of any state by adding over 322 tousand residents The State has a voting age popuation of 80% and its overal AfricanAmerican population is just under 17% while its Latino population comprises 256% of the State's residents Florida is also undergoing dramatic changes in its Latino popuation
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Latinos number over 54 milion in Forida as of uy 2018
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Based on 2017 Census data Florida now has the highest number of Puerto Rican residents than any other state in the country at 1,128225 and it gew by over 30% since 2010. Among al Latino populations in Florida Cubans are stil the plurality at 285% with Puerto Ricans second at 21% of the States Latino population but Cubans have a slower rate of growth since the start of the decade {208%) Simultaneously the white popuation of the State is declining due to its increased median age and a growing younger nonwhite population in Forida For exampe, Florida has the highest proportion of senior citizens anywere in the country
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while it has reportedy had a decine in young whites as wel
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Not surprisingy local media outlets in Florida seemingly sound the aarm in te face of these demographic changes with headines ike "How soon will minorities make up a majority of Palm Beach County? when reporting a drop to 56% in 2017 from 70% in 2000 of the whte portion of the county
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2 Saunders, Jim. Florida popuation cmbs to 13 milion, News Servce of Forida.htts/wwworlandoweeky.comBogsarchves018 11foridasoulation-cmbsto13mlion
(last accessed Ma 019) US Census Bureau, Quick Facts Florda; Population estimates as of ul 1, 018htts:/wwwcensus gov quckfactsf
(ast accessed Ma 019. 4 iueroa, Damara. Data Sheet, Puerto Rcans in Florida 010017 Apr 019. Center for Puerto Rican Studes,Hunter Colee, CUNY, Centro DS01901 htts /centror.huntercunedusitesdefaultfesdata sheetsf datasheet1119df
(ast accessed Ma 019) 5 U.S Census Bureau, Quck acts Florda; Popuaton estimates as of Ju 1, 018htts:/wwwcensus govquickfactsfl ast accessed Ma 019). 6 Wson, Red America's white popuaton shrnks for the frst tme as naton aes. The Hll, 1 une 018htts:/thehlcomhomenewsstatewatch3933americaswhiteouationshrnkingasnationages
(ast accessed Ma 019). Brownstein, Ronald States Saw Youn White Popuation Decline he Atlantic, 1 Au. 01htts /www. th eat I antc com o I it cs arch ive01 08 statessawy o u ngwh teo u I ati o nd el in e 3
last accessed Ma 019) Sinh, Mah ma ow soon wi minorites make up a majort of Palm Beach Count? he Palm Beach Post 1 ul017 htts /www ambeachostcomnews howsoonwilminoritiesmakemaorty ambeach
countU8mZooXYE9M9 ast accessed Ma 019
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Florida is also a divided state electorally. he 2000 presidential election pitting George Bush and Al Gore resulted in a difference of 537 votes in the certified count of almost 6 million votes cast Last year the November 2018 elections resulted in recounts for both the Governor's race and the election for the U.S. Senate -in each case the margin of diference in the initial counts was less han one percent -and again Florida gained national attention in how it runs its election apparatus.
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From the perspective of Latino and AfricanAmerican voters in Florida the ability to exercise their constitutional rights to the franchise has been, and will be, tested repeatedly in a State whee seemingly every result is contested withn in an environment of rapid demographic change. Failure to Provide anuae Assistance to Puerto Rican Voters In spite of a history of significant Latino migration and immigration to Florida the Secretary of State and a host of local Supervisors of Elections have not deemed it necessary to comply with full panoply of language assistance measures included in the Voting Rights Act Today, and as of 2016 in addition to statewide coverage for Florda, ten counties are required to provide Spanishlanguage assistance under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act: Broward, DeSoto, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough, Lee, MiamiDade, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk and Seminole.
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However, it usually takes litigation to force Florida election oficials to abide by the will of Congress. In 2002 the US Department of Justice sued Osceola County and entered into a settlement to stop the discriminatory failure of the county to provide voting access to Spanishspeaking voters under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
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hen in 2009 LatinoJustice and others filed suit against Volusia County to provide Spanishlanguage assistance to Puerto Rican voters under Section 4(e)-the case was settled and assistance was finally provded.
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The unprecedented migration of Puerto Ricans to Florida referenced above in this decade brought to light once again, the systemic failure of Floridas election apparatus to meet needs of Puerto Rican Spanishdominant voters. In
Rivera Madera v. Lee
Puerto Rican voters, represented by LatinoJustice and others, sued 32 counties in August 2018 for compliance with
9 Mazzei, Patrcia & Robles, Frances. It's Dj V in Florida, Land o Recounts and Contested Eectons
New YorkTimes,
Nov 2018 https:/wwwnytimes.com2018/11/0/ us/orida-ba lots-ecou ntscottnelsongi u md esa ntis htm ( last accessed
2 Ma 201). U.S Census Bureau, Fedeal Rester Notice Dec 5, 2016https /www fed ea reister gov
Id
oc m ents/2016/ 12/0/2016286 votingrihtsa ctam end m entso2 006
d etem nationsunder secti o n203 (last accessed 2 Ma 201)
U.S v Osceola County
No 602CV738ORL22JGG (MD Fla) See, CulitonGone, Katheine Time to Revve
Pueto Rcan Votin Rhts, 1
Bekeey La Raza Law Joua
101, 130 (200) ee,
Pee-anago v. Voua ouny
608-cv-868Ol28KRS (M.D. Fla)
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