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More than 36 million Latinos are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections of November 5, 2024. Most Hispanics born in the U. S. speak English, according to Pew Research, , but one in five eligible Hispanic voters don't. If you’re not fluent in English, federal law allows you to have somebody to help you register or at the voting center. It’s also likely that, in the county where you live, authorities must offer election documentation in Spanish as well.
According to the Department of Justice, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) requires that all election documentation must be in Spanish in any county with more than 10,000 people that belong to a language minority group (like Spanish) or where they represent over 5% of all voting age citizens. The federal government publishes a list where you can check if the county where you live has the obligation of offering documentation in Spanish, but many places do it voluntarily.
Example of ballot in Spanish from Westchester county, NY, for the 2020 elections.
If the federal government determines that certain counties are not following the VRA, the Department of Justice can raise a claim against them. Here is a list of federal claims against counties that did not comply with the VRA since 1988. Only 2 counties received complaints since the 2020 presidential election. One was filed in May, 2024, against the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and, as a result, the city is committed to provide materials and assistance in Spanish for all voters. The other one was filed in May, 2023, against Union County, in New Jersey, and ended with the county committing to provide all election materials in Spanish.
What if I want a relative or friend to help me?
Anyone with difficulties to read in English can be accompanied by someone to help them vote or register to vote. As allowed by law, that person can be a relative, friend or someone you just met, but it can never be your employer or boss, or a representative of your union.
Outside those conditions, anyone that tries to prevent you from receiving assistance from the person you have chosen is breaking the law. As we explained in Factchequeado, according to the American Civil Liberties Union - ACLU - it is illegal to tell a voter that “they need to speak English to vote,” “aggressively question voters about their citizenship” or to “harass non-English speakers.”
You can file a complaint against any voter intimidation attempt in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice by calling (800) 253-393 or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) online.
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