2 counties vow to ease Hispanics' poll access

Feds oversee Orange, Osceola election plans
By Susan Jacobson
Sentinel Staff Writer

August 9, 2004

Not wanting a repeat of Florida's 2000 election debacle, federal officials are meeting with supervisors of elections in Orange and Osceola counties to make sure they are welcoming Spanish-speaking voters and making it easy for them to go to the polls.

The stakes are high in what is predicted to be a close presidential race. In Osceola, more than 29 percent of the registered voters are Hispanic. In Orange, more than 15 percent are Hispanic.

On Tuesday, a U.S. Justice Department lawyer plans to meet with Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles to ensure that he is complying with the terms of a 2002 agreement designed to give Spanish speakers more access to the elections process.

The lawyer, Tim Mellett, met last week with Osceola Supervisor of Elections Donna Bryant, whose county reached a similar settlement over her handling of the 2000 election. Some Spanish speakers had complained that some Osceola poll workers were hostile toward them and that they were discouraged from voting.

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