Can you vote if you don’t speak English?
Critical Analysis
According to the data from the map above, how many states are federally mandated to provide election materials in a non-English language?
Based on the data from the map above, draw a conclusion about what types of geographical areas are mandated to provide election materials in a non-English language?
Is your state federally mandated to provide election materials in a non-English language?
About 8.3% of the US speaks English less than “very well,” according to the US Census Bureau. These Americans face greater challenges participating in the electoral process. A students, who I will call Shawn, said that if people really want to vote, they should take the time to learn English. Do you think that states should be federally required to provided election materials in a non-English language?
Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) was added in 1975 to increase voting accessibility for non-English speakers that have been historically excluded from the political process. It targets Spanish, Asian, Native American, and Alaskan Native languages. In eligible localities, it requires all elections to provide translated ballots and election information in other languages. Based on our current political climate, today’s high level of political polarization, and the highly partisan nature of Congress, do you think this section of this law would be passed today?
Section 203 covers localities where more than 10,000 or over 5% of voting-age citizens in state, county or municipality must be “members of a single language minority group,” and have limited English proficiency. For example, Hispanics with limited English proficiency are 5.8% of California’s population. That means all elections in the state must include ballots and election information in Spanish, even if an individual county or city doesn’t meet that population threshold. Spanish is the most covered language under section 203. Three states and 194 other counties in the US require ballots to be provided in Spanish. The next most common languages provided throughout the US are Chinese, Vietnamese, Navajo, Choctaw, and Filipino. If you were a member of congress today, would you vote to require non-English language election materials?
Since 2000, the Department of Justice has sued 36 localities for failing to comply with language accessibility requirements. How does this relate to the concept of federalism?
How does this relate to the concept of checks and balances?
The original Constitution doesn’t have much to say about the right to vote. Indeed, nowhere in the text does it explicitly say that citizens have the right to vote in elections. Instead, it merely states that anyone eligible to vote for the largest house of a state’s legislature is also eligible to vote for members of the House of Representatives from that state. As a result, states were left with the power to decide who qualified to vote, leading to considerable variation in the nation’s early years. While most states initially restricted voting to property-owning or tax-paying white men, some states, like New Jersey, allowed free Black men and women of both races to vote provided they met the property or tax requirements. While states soon began expanding voting rights to more citizens, this process unfolded unevenly because it was left up to each state. New Jersey actually revoked the vote from Black men and women in 1807 and North Carolina didn’t remove a property qualification until 1856. Similarly, Wyoming granted women the right to vote in 1869, long before all women achieved it nationally. This variability continues today, which is why felons can vote in some states but not in others. However, that’s not to say the Constitution says nothing about elections. Through the Elections Clause, it gives Congress and the federal government the power to determine the “Times, Places, and Manner” of congressional elections. Congress has used this power throughout the nation’s history to, for example, establish a single national Election Day and mandate single-member congressional districts. Make a claim about whether we should amend the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing a proactive right to vote?
Based on your knowledge of the American political system and the visual below*, explain whether English proficiency impacts voter turnout rates in America?
Learning Extension
Check out the whole story on voting and language from USA FACTS.
Action Extension
If you will be 17 years old by Tuesday, November 8 you can be a democracy hero and apply to become a Student Election Assistant. <—This is the link to apply in North Carolina. Look up your state board of elections online and see if you qualify to be a student election assistant. You get to help democracy and get paid!