All welcome: Advocates fight to ensure citizens not fluent in English have equal access to elections

Advocates fight to ensure citizens not fluent in English have equal access to elections.

Under a provision of the federal Voting Rights Act , 24 million citizens are entitled to assistance that will allow them to vote in their primary language.

Many argue the federal law doesn't go far enough and leaves out tens of thousands who may need translations in Arabic , Farsi or other languages.

Every five years , the U.S. Census Bureau releases a list of jurisdictions that must provide language assistance.

The latest list came out in 2021 and requires 331 jurisdictions in 30 states to provide language aid.

From 2000 to 2019 , the number of people who speak a language other than English at home went from 44 million to about 68 million .

Gila County , Arizona , is required to provide assistance in the Apache language, but the county has operated without a translator and outreach worker for about two years .

Other officials reject the idea of providing translation help, arguing that voters in America should vote in English only.

In Nevada , the portion of residents who speak a language other than English at home grew by nearly 26% in the 2010s .

Those whose first language is not English say the importance of voting in English goes beyond ensuring they feel comfortable at the polls.