Posted on Jun 24, 2022
A federal law requires translated voting ballots, but not in Arabic or Haitian Creole
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https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/ [login to see] /bilingual-ballots-voting-rights-act-section-203-explained
Among the language minority groups protected under the Voting Rights Act, you won't find voters like Shaima Mohammed.
In 1975, Congress expanded that landmark civil rights law to try to get rid of barriers preventing "citizens of language minorities" from voting. And for close to half a century, Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act has required certain states and local governments to provide voting ballots, registration forms and other election materials in more than just English.
But not all languages are covered by Section 203's protections.
And that has often left Arabic-speaking U.S. citizens with limited proficiency in English, like Mohammed, on their own when trying to vote. In 2020, she wanted to cast a ballot in the presidential election and turned to a neighbor and a cousin for help.
"Some of the people, they don't have at home someone to translate," says Mohammed, who grew up in Yemen and has taken English classes at the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in Dearborn, Mich.
Among the language minority groups protected under the Voting Rights Act, you won't find voters like Shaima Mohammed.
In 1975, Congress expanded that landmark civil rights law to try to get rid of barriers preventing "citizens of language minorities" from voting. And for close to half a century, Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act has required certain states and local governments to provide voting ballots, registration forms and other election materials in more than just English.
But not all languages are covered by Section 203's protections.
And that has often left Arabic-speaking U.S. citizens with limited proficiency in English, like Mohammed, on their own when trying to vote. In 2020, she wanted to cast a ballot in the presidential election and turned to a neighbor and a cousin for help.
"Some of the people, they don't have at home someone to translate," says Mohammed, who grew up in Yemen and has taken English classes at the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in Dearborn, Mich.
A federal law requires translated voting ballots, but not in Arabic or Haitian Creole
Posted from npr.org
Voting
Haitian-Creole
Rights
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 3
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We have more work to do in this country to ensure all citizens are represented and advocated for.
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I don't see why voting ballots and drivers license exams should be in any language other than english. English is the language of the US and while we welcome people of other nations into this country I feel that they should have time to gain some english profency to vote and drive here.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Voting rights advocates in Michigan, where some of the country's biggest Arab American communities have lived for decades, have been organizing for more official recognition of the needs of Arabic-speaking citizens.
"When we explained to them that they can vote early, that they didn't need a driver's license to vote — they had no idea. And that is all due to language barriers," says Nada Al-Hanooti, executive director of Emgage's Michigan chapter, about her advocacy group's outreach efforts with citizens who are not proficient in English.
For the upcoming primary election in August, ballots in Arabic will be available to voters in Dearborn, Mich., after a push by community groups and a city council member, Mustapha Hammoud, who introduced a resolution earlier this year that requires election materials in English and any language spoken by at least 10,000 or 5% of Dearborn's residents. In Hamtramck, Mich., another suburb of Detroit, city council members have also recently passed a resolution for Arabic election materials.
For Mohammed — the Arabic-speaking voter in Dearborn who turned to friends and family for help to get access to an English-language ballot in 2020 — it will be a major change that makes it easier to exercise her right to vote.
"It's a good feeling," Mohammed says about casting a ballot. "You feel like you're a part of this country. You're doing something good."
..."Voting rights advocates in Michigan, where some of the country's biggest Arab American communities have lived for decades, have been organizing for more official recognition of the needs of Arabic-speaking citizens.
"When we explained to them that they can vote early, that they didn't need a driver's license to vote — they had no idea. And that is all due to language barriers," says Nada Al-Hanooti, executive director of Emgage's Michigan chapter, about her advocacy group's outreach efforts with citizens who are not proficient in English.
For the upcoming primary election in August, ballots in Arabic will be available to voters in Dearborn, Mich., after a push by community groups and a city council member, Mustapha Hammoud, who introduced a resolution earlier this year that requires election materials in English and any language spoken by at least 10,000 or 5% of Dearborn's residents. In Hamtramck, Mich., another suburb of Detroit, city council members have also recently passed a resolution for Arabic election materials.
For Mohammed — the Arabic-speaking voter in Dearborn who turned to friends and family for help to get access to an English-language ballot in 2020 — it will be a major change that makes it easier to exercise her right to vote.
"It's a good feeling," Mohammed says about casting a ballot. "You feel like you're a part of this country. You're doing something good."
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