Section 12303.

(a) No person who cannot read or write the English language is eligible to act as a member of any precinct board.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that non-English-speaking citizens, like all other citizens, should be encouraged to vote. Therefore, appropriate efforts should be made to minimize obstacles to voting by citizens who lack sufficient skill in English to vote without assistance.

(c) Where the elections official finds that citizens described in subdivision (b) approximate 3 percent or more of the voting-age residents of a precinct, or in the event that interested citizens or organizations provided information which the elections official believes indicates a need for voting assistance for qualified citizens described in subdivision (b), the elections official shall make reasonable efforts to recruit election officials who are fluent in a language used by citizens described in subdivision (b) and in English. This recruitment shall be conducted through the cooperation of interested citizens and organizations and through voluntarily donated public service notices in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, particularly those media that serve the non-English-speaking citizens described in subdivision (b).

(d) At least 14 days before an election, the elections official shall prepare and make available to the public a list of the precincts to which officials were appointed pursuant to this section, and the language or languages other than English in which they will provide assistance.

(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 725, Sec. 19. Effective January 1, 1997.)