Admin Why are there foreign language ballots?
Voting is an important cornerstone of democracy. And in the United States, ballots appear in multiple languages to help voters with limited English proficiency choose their leaders and weigh in on issues.
What is the significance of a ballot?
A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th century. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared.
Should ballots be printed in languages other than English?
The federal government has long required election ballots in some U.S. jurisdictions to be printed in languages other than English, based on the number of voting-age citizens who live in those communities and have limited English skills and low education levels.
What states have to provide non-English ballots?
In eight states, only one jurisdiction must offer non-English ballots (sometimes in more than one language): Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia. Three states – California, Florida and Texas – also must provide Spanish translations of any elections material issued statewide.
Are ballots in Spanish now required in Salt Lake County?
Gwinnett County is among 23 jurisdictions that have a new requirement to offer ballots in Spanish, and Salt Lake County is among 21 where the requirement was dropped. Ballots in specific Asian languages will be newly required in seven places, while an Asian language requirement was dropped in five others.
Why is the number of Hispanics in the US increasing?
In others, a factor could be that a rising share of Hispanics are U.S. born, and English proficiency also has risen among Latinos, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. The number of jurisdictions required to offer language assistance account for 3.3% of the counties and towns counted by the Census Bureau.