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While Santa Paula and other cities try to attract bilingual poll workers, the County of Ventura has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over a complaint alleging that its elections division violated the voting rights of Spanish speakers. The complaint was filed just days before the settlement was reached and alleged that the county failed to provide enough voting materials in Spanish and bilingual poll workers during elections as required under the Voting Rights Act. Two-thirds of the county's population is Latino but it is unknown how many are Spanish speaking only or prefer ballot materials in their native language. The DOJ alleged that the county undercounted the need of Spanish sample ballots and that based on the 2000 Census, which showed the number of Latino-surnamed county residents, that up to 20,000 voters would need Spanish language sample ballots, registration forms and election related materials.
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