Spoken English Materials Pdf
Mirta Dozar
Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act requires that in certain situations (counties where more than 10,000 or 5% of all total voting-age citizens who are members of a single language minority group, have depressed literacy rates, and do not speak English very well) election materials that are available in English must also be made available in the language of particular minority group. Section 203 targets those language minorities that have suffered a history of exclusion from the political process: Spanish-heritage, Asian, Native American, and Alaskan Native.
The U.S. Census Bureau identifies the specific language groups for states and county jurisdictions, based on census information, every 5 years. The latest Section 203 determination was December 8, 2021. The next determination is expected in December 2026.
California Elections Code section 14201 further requires that county elections officials provide a translated facsimile ballot and related instructions in a conspicuous location in precincts where 3% or more of the voting-age residents are members of a single language minority and lack sufficient skills in English to vote without assistance. The Secretary of State is required to make these Section 14201 determinations by January 1 of each year in which the governor is elected.
The chart below identifies the language requirements for each county under Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act and Elections Code section 14201. Please note that this chart is based upon 2016 and 2020 precinct information and data, as previously provided by the California Statewide Database at U.C. Berkeley. The requirements provided in the chart will remain in place through December 31, 2025. The next determinations will be issued by January 1, 2026.
California Elections Code sections 12303 and 14201 allows elections officials the discretion to provide additional language assistance not required by Section 14201 when petitioned by interested citizens or organizations. If any interested party would like to petition for a new language, please contact Reina Miller at RMi...@sos.ca.gov. Examples of data that can be submitted with your petition can be found below:
The Library of Congress is home to a noteworthy collection of rare Persian language manuscripts, lithographic books and early imprints, as well as printed books, housed in the African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED) and the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Most of these Persian manuscripts and lithographic books were procured for the Library in the 1930s by Kirkor Minassian (1874-1944), a renowned dealer in fine Islamic and Near Eastern arts with establishments both in New York and Paris. The Minassian acquisitions included treasures from the entire Middle East with rare books and manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Armenian languages. Since the 1930s the Library has continued to purchase a small number of Persian language manuscripts and lithographs at auctions, and from antique manuscript and book sellers including Christies and Sotheby's. The Library has also benefited from the generosity of people who have donated rare Persian materials they inherited from their families over the generations and which have been present in the United States or Europe before World War II.
These rare Persian manuscripts, lithographs 1 and early imprint 2 books comprise works in many disciplines, but historical and literary works are dominant. A number of these items are exquisitely illuminated anthologies of poetry by classic and lesser known poets, written in fine calligraphic styles, and illustrated with miniatures. Many also have beautiful bindings. A number of the illuminated books are multilingual works, which include Arabic and Turkish passages in addition to Persian, focusing on scientific, religious - philosophical and literary topics, and others are holy books important to all confessional traditions within the Islamic world.
The Library's Near East Section showcased over 40 of these rare Persian manuscripts and lithographic books for the first time, for the public to see, in the exhibition "A Thousand Years of the Persian Book" between March 27, 2014 and September 20, 2014. As a result of the interest generated by the exhibition, the Near East Section, with support from many divisions across the Library, began a digitization project in 2015 aimed at digitizing all of the rare Persian language treasures at the Library covering all the manuscripts, lithographs and the early imprint book collections as well as a rare collection of Islamic Book Bindings acquired from Kirkor Minassian in the 1930s. Currently the collection features 169 manuscripts and a selection of lithograph and early imprint titles. As more lithographic and early imprint holdings are digitized, additional titles will be added to the site in the near future.
From the 10th century C.E. to the present, the Persian language became the cultural lingua franca for a large region stretching from West Asia to Central and South Asia. Today Persian is the native language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and some regions of Central and South Asia and the Caucasus. This rare Persian language digitization project clearly reflects the diversity and cosmopolitan nature of the collection, since a sizable number of manuscripts and lithographic books originate in India, Central Asia, the Caucasus and regions under Ottoman rule, in addition to the native Persian speaking lands of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. A good number of the Persian early imprints, especially Persian translations of the Holy Bible were even published in Europe and the West, in the modern printing presses of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The Voting Rights Act (VRA) requires that certain state and political subdivisions provide language assistance during elections for certain language minority groups who are unable to speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process. As of 2021, Federal law requires over 330 jurisdictions to provide some type of language assistance. Below are a variety of federal, state, and local jurisdiction resources related to language access for voters.
Determinations from the U.S. Census Bureau are published in the federal register as required under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) (52 USC 10503) every five years. These determinations affect federal requirements for providing voting materials and other assistance during elections for certain language minority groups across the United States. The most recent determination was published on December 8, 2021.
This map uses American Community Survey (ACS) data to show which jurisdictions are currently covered under Section 203. Use this tool to look up language requirements by jurisdiction including city, county, or state. You can click on the page number to see a list of state abbreviations, and from here you can select a state to review. Jurisdictions can use this feature for networking purposes as it allows you to look up information by language group. Organizations can also use this data to find communities that need language assistance programs.
About Language Minority Voting Rights: The U.S. Department of Justice website has a concise discussion of VRA language minority rights provisions and the requirements that covered jurisdictions must meet.
Voting Section Litigation: The U.S. Department of Justice website lists dozens of cases raising claims under VRA language minority provisions. Common reasons for U.S. Department of Justice enforcement actions include jurisdictions that did not provide critical election-related information in a covered language and failed to provide an adequate number of bilingual poll officials who were trained to assist voters.
About Federal Observers and Election Monitoring: The U.S. Department of Justice website provides information on federal observers and election monitoring, including its historical and legal background.
Guidelines on the Implementation of the Provisions of the Voting Rights Act Regarding Language Minority Groups: U.S. Department of Justice guidance regarding how to implement VRA language minority provisions.
New! EAC Best Practices for Unwritten Languages: According to the American Community Survey (ACS) data, there are nearly 30,000 people of voting age living across 78 jurisdictions in three states (Alaska, Arizona, and New Mexico) who speak unwritten languages. This new resource was created to assist election officials with providing language assistance to voters who require oral assistance in their minority language.
New! EAC Guide to Language Access and Accessibility: Some election officials are required by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) to produce materials in languages other than English. Election officials also must communicate understandable information to voters with disabilities that impact their hearing, seeing, speaking, reading, writing, or comprehension. This guide was developed to help election officials serving voters at the intersection of language access and disability.
New! EAC Language Access Program Checklist: This Checklist was created to ensure proper implementation of the requirements of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. The checklist includes information on implementation timelines, budget considerations, community outreach and engagement, requirements for written materials, poll worker recruitment and training, general best practices for election officials, and other language access resources from the EAC.
EAC Clearinghouse Brief: Language Accessibility: This brief discusses language accessibility and serving language minority voters, including those with Limited English proficiency. It aims to help election officials and other election stakeholders understand language assistance requirements that are mandated by the federal Voting Rights Act and learn how other jurisdictions have approached language assistance. This resource is available in Spanish- EAC Resumen del Centro de Intercambio: Accesibilidad a Idiomas -- Spanish.
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