California Communities Are Making the Promise of Democracy Real

Every election year, the Asian Law Caucus' nonpartisan poll monitoring program plays a crucial role in safeguarding California voters’ ability to cast their ballot and protect their hard-won rights to language and disability support.

On Election Day and the Saturday beforehand, hundreds of volunteers trained by the Asian Law Caucus, California Common Cause, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights observe polling sites across 25+ counties. At libraries, community centers, and schools, they work through a checklist to confirm polling places have translated election materials and are accessible to people with disabilities. They serve as a nonpartisan check against voter harassment and disenfranchisement. If they encounter a potential problem, we connect them with a hotline staffed by ALC voting rights experts to answer legal questions and provide real-time support.

In the March 2024 primary elections, more than 300 volunteers visited over 850 polling sites across the state. We’re on track to break that record this year, and we invite Californians to sign up to make the promise of democracy more real for our neighbors and communities.

To ensure we are reaching as many places as possible, we are especially eager for volunteers who are from or can travel to Butte, El Dorado, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Monterey, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, San Benito, Shasta, Stanislaus, Sutter, and Yolo Counties.

Stories from Asian Law Caucus Poll Monitor Volunteers

For first-time poll monitor volunteers like Yvette, who volunteered in San Francisco County during the March election, the program offered a new perspective on voting and what it takes to ensure voters can cast their ballots.

Yvette explained, "It’s a great opportunity to see how the whole process goes. Before I volunteered, I only saw that you drop an envelope in the mail and that’s it."

While she was volunteering, she called ALC’s hotline to flag that elderly voters in Chinatown needed help navigating polling places in their language. In San Francisco, voters have a right to receive language assistance in Chinese. Our team has since raised this concern with San Francisco officials who are leading efforts to recruit more bilingual poll workers.

For Fauziya, a policy and advocacy coordinator at CAIR Sacramento Valley/Central California, volunteering in Sacramento County was a chance to see firsthand how she can support voters by paying closer attention to language protections.

“Many are not informed about the different assistance available and it’s important for us to share this information widely and to folks voting in person,” said Fauziya.

The poll monitoring program is also a way to strengthen local ties for volunteers and give back to their community. Donna has volunteered in Marin County since November 2022 and shared:

“It’s a worthwhile and fun thing to do to get out of the house, meet new people, see different parts of the neighborhood you didn’t know existed. Come November, it’s very important more volunteers are out to ensure everything runs smoothly.”

In a past election, Donna volunteered with her friend Toni, and they were able to help voters during their shift. As part of their training, Donna and Toni learned that bilingual poll workers should be wearing a badge, ribbon, or sticker identifying which languages they speak. A Spanish-speaking poll worker mistakenly forgot to add the language she spoke on her badge. Donna and Toni noticed this and the poll worker was able to add her language skills to her badge, helping more Spanish speakers get support while voting.

Each election year, poll monitor volunteers are protecting their neighbors’ right to vote, from ensuring there are signs in all the required languages to flagging parking barriers. Sign up by October 6 and help California voters have a say in the decisions that impact their lives.