Sunday, September 9, 2018
Jude Holland - Spanish Ballots Ordered By Judge In Florida
Recently Kenneth Detzner, Secretary of State in Florida has been required by a federal judge, Mark Walker, to mandate that local election ballots be printed in Spanish as well as English, in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. There is a large population of Spanish speakers in Florida, and many more fled to Florida after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico last year. Walker also insisted that the Spanish voters must have instructions on how to fill out the forms, and signs provided to them at voting locations, in 32 different Florida counties. Walker also repeatedly reminded the defiant Detzner that the Puerto Ricans were American Citizens, that reserve the right to vote, and should be able to exercise that right.
Analysis: I personally agree with the mandate, as I believe all Americans no matter what should have the right to vote, and a language barrier should not prohibit certain citizens to exercise their rights. Ever since the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, it has been a long and hard struggle to secure suffrage rights to all Americans. In 1865 African Americans technically gained the right to vote (although still faced many challenges in attempting to vote), and women in 1920. In 1965 the Voting Rights Act was passed, prohibiting all racial discrimination during voting. Spanish speaking Americans, in my view, should be no exception. If someone cannot speak English well enough to vote, then they must be able to in whatever language they speak. In my opinion, in order for America to truly be a democracy, all citizens should posses the right to vote.
Link: https://www.npr.org/2018/09/07/645753328/judge-orders-florida-officials-to-provide-sample-ballots-in-spanish
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I totally agree. America should "cultivate diversity", like our core values say. As you said before, a languague barrier should not limit someones right to vote.
ReplyDeleteGiven American history and the enormous influence the Spanish language has had over it, you are entirely correct in saying that all citizens of America deserve the right to vote, not matter their race, language, and/or culture. I think that it's phenomenal that this decision has been made, though I would question why this didn't occur sooner, as Florida in specific was originally a Spanish colony.
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