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Old 01-06-2012, 03:57 AM
 
Location: Arvada, CO
13,825 posts, read 29,831,611 times
Reputation: 14423

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Quote:
Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim View Post
According to the Orland Press-Register:

"Federal officials are requiring Glenn County election ballots to be printed in English and Spanish beginning with the June 5 primary.

The U.S Department of Justice requires a county to print bilingual materials if more than 5 percent of voting age population are members of a single-language minority and are limited in English proficiency, election officials said Wednesday ...

Glenn County’s Hispanic population, which was 29.6 percent in 2000, is now 37.5 percent, according to 2010 census figures."

Something is really rotten about this. In the first place, shouldn't the criteria pertain to eligible voters rather than "voting age population"? There's a big difference between the two. One who is not qualified to vote doesn't need election materials in any language. And a large number of Spanish speakers in Glenn County are not qualified to vote. Many of them are fine people, and some are friends of mine, but they're not eligible voters. Trust me on this. And don't ask me how I know.

The larger problem is that a person with limited English proficiency is simply not qualified to make informed decisions in a California election. Our local measures and statewide ballot initiatives can be very complex. Understanding them requires doing quite a bit of research - in English. And, of course, most of our candidates for office campaign in English exclusively. English language proficiency ought to be a legal requirement for voting in California.
Advocating for the devil here, but there is plenty of election coverage in Spanish, Spanish-language TV/media covers the issues just as well as English-language TV does (but does skew coverage towards issues directly affecting the Hispanosphere). Most people that vote for props (of any linguistic background) don't research them intensely anyway....

Believe it or not, there are areas in the continental US (including CA) where the native-born population speaks Spanish, French, and multitudes of other languages. Remember, there is no test given to people to see if they're worthy voters or not, so if they somehow didn't learn English coming up.....

I don't believe any demographic information pertaining to preferred language is collected when you register to vote, so there's no way of knowing which languages predominate among registered voters: unless you want to further institute government intrusion via voter ID cards, etc.

It's not that big of a deal, you'll just see your ballot in both languages, it's like that where I live. The ballot is still completely legible.
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Old 01-06-2012, 04:26 AM
 
Location: Declezville, CA
16,806 posts, read 39,823,761 times
Reputation: 17684
It is a big deal. Learn the f'in language of the country you've decided to plant your ass in. Do they cater to Cambodians in this way, because all these Cambodian donut shop owners around here exhibit this odd behavior... they speak English. Imagine that.
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Old 01-06-2012, 07:35 AM
 
Location: Arvada, CO
13,825 posts, read 29,831,611 times
Reputation: 14423
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fontucky View Post
It is a big deal. Learn the f'in language of the country you've decided to plant your ass in. Do they cater to Cambodians in this way, because all these Cambodian donut shop owners around here exhibit this odd behavior... they speak English. Imagine that.
Actually, Los Angeles County does.
Bilingual voting ballots ordered in Va., 24 other states | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

This is nothing new. It's been part of the voting process in some form since 1965. Glenn County must have just recently cleared the 5% of "not speaking English very well" threshold among Spanish speakers (having traveled through Glenn County, I'm surprised it wasn't done sooner ).
Voting Rights Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Should voting material be offered in Spanish? - WFTX-TV Fort Myers/Naples, FL
Quote:
"It's not necessarily true the people don't know English. They may know English but they may not be proficient in reading or speaking it as a second language. And that's what the Department of Justice looks at," explains Harrington.

In fact, lawmakers voted in 1992 that voting material be offered in another language if 5% or more of the voting age population speaks a language other than English.
San Francisco has 'em in English, Spanish, and Chinese.
Can I get voting materials in languages other than English? | Reset San Francisco

Apparently, it's more of a comfort thing, as opposed to a not knowing English thing.

Guys, BTW this is the "knowing English test" for to-be naturalized citizens:

Quote:
Speaking Test

Your ability to speak English will be determined by a USCIS Officer during your eligibility interview on Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.

Reading Test

You must read one out of three sentences correctly to demonstrate an ability to read in English.

Writing Test

You must write one out of three sentences correctly to demonstrate an ability to write in English.
USCIS - Study for the Test

^Anybody who's been in the US for more than a few weeks could probably do that. And who knows how broad the "Speaking Test" is.
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Old 01-06-2012, 11:19 AM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,854,602 times
Reputation: 3806
Grandparents all came from somewhere else ... one, from Norway, a fisherman (how unique), arrived in 1912 and became a citizen, raised a family, worked, paid taxes, -- good citizen until he died at 90. Even after a lifetime here, he only spoke English barely ok and with heavy accent ... and just never got the knack of reading it as well as his native-born Norwegian. He voted. Didn't have Norwegian on the ballot info -- but coulda used it His wife, my grandmother, came over at the same time and learned English easily ... spoke and read well.

Language is easy for some ... tough for others. It's what's in the heart and deeds that count. Grandpa was a pretty cool guy and a good American.
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Old 01-06-2012, 11:49 AM
 
Location: Orange County, CA
3,727 posts, read 6,205,035 times
Reputation: 4257
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ceece View Post
Can California ignore the federal officials and US Department of Justice requirements?
Since the Fed has not done their job, some states, like Arizona, Oklahoma, Alabama, and a few others, are trying to do just that. A pity that California does not have anyone like Brewer or Arpaio.
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Old 01-06-2012, 06:59 PM
 
Location: Arvada, CO
13,825 posts, read 29,831,611 times
Reputation: 14423
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackShoe View Post
Since the Fed has not done their job, some states, like Arizona, Oklahoma, Alabama, and a few others, are trying to do just that. A pity that California does not have anyone like Brewer or Arpaio.
This isn't about illegal immigration.
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Old 01-06-2012, 08:09 PM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,854,602 times
Reputation: 3806
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Aguilar View Post
This isn't about illegal immigration.
Thank you for noticing
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