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WASHINGTON (AP) - In the run-up to the 2012 elections, the federal government is requiring that 248 counties and other political jurisdictions in 25 states provide bilingual ballots to Hispanics and other minorities who speak little or no English.
That's down from the previous list compiled a decade ago after the 2000 census, which covered 296 counties in 30 states.
The federal Voting Rights Act mandates bilingual material if a Latino, Asian-American, American Indian or Alaskan minority group is unable to speak or understand English well enough to vote in elections.
Combined with other provisions of the voting act, more than 1 in 18 jurisdictions must now provide bilingual material, effective this week.
The Census Bureau compiles the list based on population growth and survey data on educational attainment and English proficiency.
October 12, 2011 @ 1:11 pm
No hablas englese!
October 12, 2011 @ 3:24 pm
Very Cute!
October 12, 2011 @ 1:18 pm
OK, I need to make sure I have this straight. First, a person has to be a US citizen to vote–that excludes non-citizens, legal or illegal. Second, to become a citizen, you have to take a test, which requires some modest knowledge of English. Third, if you are a natural-born citizen and do not speak English, why the hell not?
October 12, 2011 @ 1:42 pm
You are forgetting the millions of people born here to American citizens that can’t speak English. I live amonst them and it blows your mind. The ones you’re talking about probably do know how to read and write English. We have areas in South Texas that will give Mexico’s barrios a run for the money. And I challenge anyone to put 10 legals with 10 illegals and pick which ones are Americans and which ones are Mexican citizens. Can’t be done… We have a border, a boundary on paper between the two but it’s just a line and that’s what people in the rest of the country don’t understand. They see it as nothing more than another border between two American states. They cross back and forth – and that’s people from both sides going back and forth over the bridges via car, truck or on foot.
October 12, 2011 @ 3:08 pm
If they are legal and want to vote, they need to learn English or NOT VOTE. I would hope that some of the States tell the Feds to pound sand.
October 12, 2011 @ 1:24 pm
If they don’t understand english enough, in a country where it predominately is spoken and written, then how can they possibly make an intelligent choice in their voting? Granted someone can explain it all to them, but is that person explaining it doing it in an unbiased way?
October 12, 2011 @ 1:43 pm
Easy answer – NOPE!
The directions are pretty clear as to which lever to pull or which box to check. And it isn’t for the conservative side of the ballot. ONE party vote, very few individual candidates are ever selected.
October 13, 2011 @ 2:48 pm
“….then how can they possibly make an intelligent choice in their voting?…”
The point exactly. Obama does not want them to make an intelligent (read that “good for America”) choice. Why do you think Obama now only campaigns in front of either illegal aliens (La Raza) or immature, naive and ill-informed voters (college students)? So many previous Obama supporters have become enlightened to the point where many will make an intelligent choice next election, e.g. anyone but Obama, that he has to cull new voters from new sources. I don’t expect Obama to ever again campaign in front of legal adult Americans.
October 12, 2011 @ 1:27 pm
Aggie, you have it right. But if we are to have multi-lingual ballots, then we should have French, German, Hebrew, Russian, Vietnamese, at least two or three Chinese dialects, Japanese, Korean,….. A veritable Tower of Babel, or is it Babble?
October 12, 2011 @ 1:31 pm
Mort you left out the many muzzie dialects!
October 12, 2011 @ 1:32 pm
If you can’t read English, how can you understand/have a knowledge of what the issues are???
A person has to take a test to drive a car, why should voting be different?? (unless you are politically correct)
October 12, 2011 @ 1:49 pm
The states should just say, “NO.” The feds have no constitutional authority to order this (see Article I, Section 4). Congress may intercede but States can still nullify.
Another point is that candidates names are the same in any language. As for various propositions, if these alleged citizens were that interested, they’d have learned English. Their ignorance in that area should disqualify them from voting on those.
A final question: How do we know that the translations given are accurate and aren’t written by some Dem flack, trying to sway opinion?
October 12, 2011 @ 2:19 pm
If Congress had passed the English as official language bill, we wouldn’t be required to tolerate this type of insanity. If we go to a foreign country, we are expected to speak the language in order to function, and the same requirement should be made on those who come to the U.S. The three things that define a nation are language, borders, and culture. The enemies within are trying to attack and destroy all three of these characteristics in order to “transform” the U.S. into another third-world country.
October 12, 2011 @ 3:20 pm
This is the net result of PC run amok.
October 13, 2011 @ 2:54 pm
I don’t believe Obama is doing this for PC reasons. He could not care less than he does now about people with ESL. He wants ill-informed voters – who likely will be those who cannot speak English - because those are the ones that will vote for him based on anything other than real issues that require English literacy to understand.
October 12, 2011 @ 3:23 pm
We are in America, where ENGLISH is the native language. At what cost is this going to cost the American taxpayer?
I cannot believe that the federal government would make the states provide voter ballots in any other language than ENGLISH!
If you cannot read or speak English, then I think it is time for you to learn, and that is before you decide to vote!
WAKE UP AMERICA, DEMAND THAT ONLY ENGLISH BE USED FOR VOTERS!
October 12, 2011 @ 4:06 pm
What a crock. If you can’t speak English, you don’t deserve to get to vote.
October 13, 2011 @ 3:00 pm
I agree with you. In fact, I further believe that anyone receiving welfare should not be allowed to vote. How crazy is it to allow someone living off YOUR money (tax money) to vote themselves MORE of your money or to vote how you must spend your money?? Anyone who wants to vote should be required to be off welfare at the time of the election.
October 12, 2011 @ 5:11 pm
I thought this was America not Mexico. When we go to a foreign country to fill out paperwork it is in their language and a dictionary is handed to you so you can convert. Very satisfied and respectful of their culture.
What is happening to America? We have a hard time reading street signs driving down the road, telephone prompts are constantly asking what your language is, paperwork from the schools if on the wrong side I cannot read??????? I think I live in America?
I know we will be paying for all the additional paperwork not printed in English.
It’s up to us to demand changes now. If not, how many languages might I need to learn just to get by in AMERICA?
October 13, 2011 @ 3:01 pm
Isn’t Mexico empty by now?
October 12, 2011 @ 5:54 pm
If they are legal citizens, they should speak our language. How did they pass the test to become citizens without speaking or reading english?. How do they qualify to have a vote on who runs this Country if they don’t even know their names to mark the ballot?. I see this as just another way for Illegals to be handed the right to vote, which suits OBUMMBER just fine as he is trying desperately to grab all the hispanic votes he can get to be re-elected as ruler, OOPS, President.
As far as I am concerned, they are not legal citizens if they cannot read and speak our language. I hate that our Country is being handed over to these illegal fence climbers, hole diggers who say they are citizens but cannot possibly have passed the test to be legal without reading and writing the English language. This is literally impossible to be so. It was once a personal achievement when a foreigner was able to pass the test and become a American. Now all they have to do is cross the border, not get caught, and say I am legal. Then they listen to hispanic music and owe their allegience to the mexican flag. What the H— is going on?. What has happened to the Country which once immigrants were proud to call their home by passing the tests to become legal Citizens and calling it and treating it as their home?. Now it is just get across the border without being caught, then handed all they need to survive here including SS which they have never paid a dime into. Our once proud Country is not so proud anymore, when you can see, and hear so many signs that say illegals are here, and don’t care about patriotism, just provide for me and my kids then spit on and burn our flag in demonstrations because they are not treated fairly.
WAKE UP AMERICA BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE AND ALL HOPE IS LOST.
GOD BLESS AMERICA, AND I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN AND PATRIOT.
October 12, 2011 @ 6:52 pm
Of course the administration must make it easier for illegals to commit voter fraud on behalf of the Democratic party. If you can’t read or understand English, how in the world can you vote intelligently in any election? Oh, I forget, Obama, the democrats, Acorn affiliates, unions, other Soros sponsored group will help you made an unintelligent decision. Too bad they can’t enter the voting booth and help so we wouldn’t have to waste money having ballots printed in other than English.
Word to the wise. All citizen need to become somewhat proficient in English.
October 12, 2011 @ 10:45 pm
What I cannot believe is that this number went down…
STOP the MADNESS!
October 13, 2011 @ 2:08 pm
No English, no vote. That’s how simple it should be.
October 13, 2011 @ 10:45 pm
How much is this going to cost the American Tax payer??
Congress needs to pass a law stating that English is America’s language. OBama will do what ever it takes to be re-elected along with spending our money.