Minutes
Marin County Elections Department
Language Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting (LAAC)
April 22, 2025, 2:30 p.m.
Virtual (Zoom) Meeting
Attendees
Cris Parra, Canal Alliance
Pedro Moreira, Canal Alliance
Sietse Goffard, Asian Law Caucus
Mo de Nieva-Marsh, Community Action Marin
Lynda Roberts, Registrar of Voters
Colleen Ksanda, Vote Centers /Election Workers
Elizabeth Iwamiya, Outreach
Danny Straub, Outreach
Welcome
Lynda Roberts opened the meeting and thanked everyone for their participation.
Discussion Items
Joint meeting with Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee (VAAC)
Lynda Roberts proposed the idea presented by VAAC members that the LAAC and VAAC have a joint meeting since both committees discuss accessibility issues. LAAC committee members agreed that a yearly joint meeting would be beneficial so members can learn from each other.
Asian Law Caucus November 2024 Election Observer Report
Lynda Roberts reviewed the following information. The key focus of the observer program is monitoring compliance with federal and state language accessibility laws.
- Observers visited 16 of 21 Marin County vote centers in November 2024.
- Overall, they found strong compliance with language and disability access requirements and observers expressed extremely positive feedback about the voting experience.
- Observers recommended every voting site for use in future elections.
- Some locations did not effectively advertise the presence of bilingual poll workers or the language assistance hotline.
- Suggestions: Better signage regarding bi-lingual election workers and availability of language assistance hotline. In addition, observers recommended adding more external and internal directional signage near entrances and parking lots.
Committee member Sietse Goffard added that Asian Law Caucus is part of a group that runs the largest non-partisan observer process in the state of California. The group is interested in looking for compliance with accessibility requirements (language and disability). Marin County does a good job.
Colleen Ksanda reviewed the issue of listing languages spoken on election workers’ name tags. She spoke with election workers at training prior to the 2024 primary election and found that although people indicated they were bi-lingual when they applied for the position, they didn’t feel comfortable putting it on their name tag. So prior to the 2024 general election, she changed wording on the application to ask if the person is “fluent”, and she placed people who indicated they were fluent. It is disappointing that workers still didn’t indicate languages spoken on their name tags. Ms. Ksanda will continue to reinforce this requirement at training. Regarding signage about the language assistance hotline, the number has been included on an information card given to voters as needed. However, recent legislation now requires that a sign is posted with this information, so new signage will be provided to vote centers.
Ms. Ksanda suggested that if an observer sees an issue that can easily be resolved by Election Day (since observers visit locations during early voting), they can mention it to the election workers or contact her prior to Election Day.
Regarding name tags, one member suggested a reminder closer to Election Day (as well as in training) may be helpful for workers.
Translation Guide
Danny Straub talked about an effort to create a translation guide of stock messages that staff can use when preparing outreach materials. The goal is to have consistency throughout messages. Mr. Straub has prepared a document and asked LAAC members for their assistance in reviewing and refining the translations. He will also include an outline of the expectations for the document. A follow-up email will be sent to the committee.
Encouraging Civic Engagement
At the last meeting, a committee member suggested partnering with the Elections Department to encourage civic engagement and voting. Danny Straub outlined efforts underway for the 2026 election cycle that include expanding the Department’s social media presence through Instagram; coordinating an “I Voted” sticker design contest; and participating in field outreach, such as hosting a booth at the County Fair.
Translated Election Materials
At the last meeting, a committee member mentioned that voters need clarification about translated materials they can expect to receive by checking the language-preference box on the registration form. Danny Straub is currently working with Canal Alliance to help spread the message through their network. This information will also be available when the Elections Department hosts a booth at the County Fair. The mock election will mimic the actual process, meaning people will get a translated facsimile ballot they can use to vote on the English-language official ballot.
In response to feedback about the issue of confused voters marking and returning their facsimile ballot thinking it is the official ballot, Lynda Roberts said that when this happens, the Department duplicates the votes from the facsimile to an official ballot in compliance with election law.
Miscellaneous
Committee member Mo de Nieva-Marsh, Community Action Marin, made two announcements: 1) Community Action Marin has new headquarters in Novato and Ms. de Nieva-Marsh invited people to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony. The new location will be a community space and could support outreach activities; 2) Community Action Marin is in the process of updating its action plan and will hold a public meeting to receive feedback. Ms. de Nieva-Marsh invited people to participate. She will send a follow-up email with more information about both events.
Elizabeth Iwamiya mentioned the Youth Town Hall event that will be held on Sunday, April 27. The Youth Town Hall is part of the Student Elections Ambassador Program (SEAP). As of this meeting, the department has received 60 RSVPs from students. A link to the flyer will be emailed to the committee.
Next Meeting
The next quarterly meeting is scheduled for July 15, 2:30-3:30 via Zoom.
The meeting adjourned at 3:30 PM.
Marin County Elections Department
Language Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting (LAAC)
January 21, 2025, 2:30 p.m.
Virtual (Zoom) Meeting
Attendees
Cris Parra, Canal Alliance
Carly Finkle, Canal Alliance
Pedro Moreira, Canal Alliance
Yolanda Barahona, Community Action Marin
Mo de Nieva-Marsh, Community Action Marin
Lynda Roberts, Registrar of Voters
Colleen Ksanda, Vote Centers /Election Workers
Elizabeth Iwamiya, Outreach
Danny Straub, Outreach
Welcome
Lynda Roberts opened the meeting and thanked everyone for their participation.
November 2024 Election Overview
Vote Centers
Colleen Ksanda reviewed language efforts for Vote Centers:
- Marin County had a total of 21 vote centers open on Election Day; four locations were open 10 days before the election and the majority were open starting 3 days before the election.
- Canal Area had two locations: 1) AJ Boro Community Center (only available on Election Day); 2) Health and Wellness Center on Kerner Blvd. was open starting three days before Election Day.
- Bolinas vote center was only available the day before and on Election Day due to other events they had scheduled; the community center is the only location available to host a vote center.
- Elections Department received no incident reports from any voters.
- The total number of election workers was172, which included 42 Vote Center Coordinators (VCCs) that manage the locations; several of the new VCCs spoke a second language.
- During the 2024 primary election, observers from Asian Law Caucus noticed workers who said they spoke a language but didn’t include it on their name tag; workers were reminded at training for the November election to write languages they speak on their name tag.
- In an effort to hire people with strong language skills, wording on the recruitment invitation letter was changed to, “Are you fluent in another language and if so, please indicate the language”; as a result, some prior workers eliminated themselves so the department hired new people with more language fluency but no election experience, and some of these new people dropped out.
- Statistics for the November election:
- Spanish speakers = 46 workers
- Chinese speakers = 5 workers
- Vietnamese speakers = 1 worker
- 30% of election worker staffing had second language skills
- No incidents with language were reported
- The November election ran smoothly
Language Statistics
Elizabeth Iwamiya provided statistics for the November 2024 general election regarding Spanish-speaking voters:
- Of approximately 172,000 registered voters, a little over 5,000 voluntarily indicated Hispanic ethnicity on their registration form
- 23% of this group did not vote
- A little over 1,400 registered voters indicated Spanish as their language of preference for election materials
- 33% of this group did not vote
- The majority of voters in these two groups voted by mail
The Elections Department outreach team plans to work with Canal Alliance on messaging to Spanish speakers.
Outreach Campaign
Danny Straub reviewed a new digital campaign for the November 2024 election that better served various language communities:
- The department’s new partner used a more effective approach (social mirror advertisements) to widen the social media audience.
- Social mirror advertisements look more like a social media post and this approach significantly increased the click rate on election messages.
- The new partner better identified communities of interest for outreach efforts.
Student Elections Ambassador Program (SEAP)
Elizabeth Iwamiya gave a brief update about the Student Elections Ambassador Program (SEAP):
- There are currently 68 students enrolled.
- The program’s signature event, Youth Town Hall, is scheduled for April 27 in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at the Civic Center.
- Now in its third year, the Youth Town Hall was created by students for students as an opportunity to ask local mayors questions and express their concerns.
- Elizabeth had a conversation a while back with Pedro (Canal Alliance) about offering the SEAP training in Spanish.
Committee Feedback / Discussion
- One member mentioned having seen the new digital media campaign.
- Who manages the social media accounts for the Student Elections Ambassador Program (SEAP)? It is a collaboration between the Elections Department, League of Women Voters of Marin County, and students.
- One member suggested including elected school board members on a future Youth Town Hall panel. School boards are a good way to introduce young people to elected office. Perhaps a message can be sent to SEAP participants about vacant seats.
- Regarding vote centers, one member voted for the first time at the Albert Boro location and suggested having an election worker act as a greeter in the main area to help first-time voters.
- In response to a question, Elizabeth confirmed that the Elections Department is planning to participate in the Marin Teen Girls Conference and mentioned that SEAP students participated last year.
Future Meeting Topics
Members suggested several ideas for the April meeting:
- Discuss ways to encourage civic engagement and voting in a way that isn’t overwhelming.
- Review the registration process, i.e., what it looks like for those registering for the first time or for those changing their registration.
- Help train community outreach points of contact about voter registration and what it means to check the language box on the form—what translated materials does the voter get?
- Invite young people to learn about registering to vote so they can help others in their families.
Next Meeting
The next quarterly meeting will be April 15, 2:30-3:30 via Zoom.
The meeting adjourned at 3:30 PM.