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Should the government provide ballots in languages other than English?

Should the government provide ballots in languages other than English?

  • Total voters
    64
No.

As I understand it, you cannot vote unless you have become a citizen of the USA. Of course, election/voter fraud might bypass this in some small instances, but in general...you have to be a citizen.

Further, I believe you need basic english language comprehenshion to become a citizen.
As quoted from [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law"]Wikipedia[/ame]:
...and must pass a test on United States history and government. Most applicants must also have a working knowledge of the English language. There are exceptions, introduced in 1990, for long-resident older applicants and those with mental or physical disabilities. This requirement for an ability to read, write, and speak English is not regarded as too difficult, since the test requires that applicants read and write in English.
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Thus, it would seem that no one who is voting should need a different language.

Indeed, if they do, they shouldn't be voting.
 
Aunt Spiker said:
I feel that writing in someone's familiar language would be the best thing - if not the entire ballot then information on a website about each ballot issue/question so someone can, with relative ease, learn about what they're voting for.

Not because I don't want everyone to speak English and read/write it - but because even if someone has lived here since they were 10 years old and know English VERY well they might still understand their language better.

My ballots are written to where they're confusing. English IS my only language and I STILL have a hard time understanding what is written - it's just wordy, bulky, jumbled and confusing. I have to re-read some things several times before completely grasping what a 'no' vote would be against and what a 'yes' vote would support.

I think that something as important as a vote shouldn't be made more confusing than it already is.
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You make a good point there.
 
I voted "in all languages"...this is so damn absurd...All languages would be about 100, but there could be 500 worldwide...
And still the voters would not know what they are doing, nor who to vote for; and a minority vote anyway.
Twenty, thirty years ago ,there was none of this more than one language crap. Now, thats not good enough..:3oops::(:doh..
How we have "backsliden":3oops:..
Lets put and end to this crap with more than one language !
We do need reform/improvement in this area, lets stay with one language.
 
As a side note on the whole multiple languages discussion, IMO it is better to have one standard language, for various reasons, among them:

  • Simplification of forms, etc.
  • One language would seem to unify a people better than multiple. The various dialects of English we have developed in the USA tend to cause slight issues for some, what would multiple languages do?
 
Whether or not we should have one language is a separate issue from whether or not ballots should be printed in languages other than English.

It's one thing to have English be the language of day-to-day government affairs, but I think voting is a bit different since citizens have a right to vote. The government can make reasonable accommodations for the most commonly spoken languages, without having to print up ballots in 2,000 different languages.
 
Kandahar said:
Whether or not we should have one language is a separate issue from whether or not ballots should be printed in languages other than English.

It's one thing to have English be the language of day-to-day government affairs, but I think voting is a bit different since citizens have a right to vote. The government can make reasonable accommodations for the most commonly spoken languages, without having to print up ballots in 2,000 different languages.
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Exactly.
Important things should be as easy to understand as possible.

Instructions aren't written in multiple languages for no reason, they're written in multiple languages because it's very important that the person reading and following them can understand everything.

It's a completely different issue than a unified or national language.
 
jamesrage said:
The government should only provide ballots in one language and that is english. According to the constitution only citizens(19th amendment) shall not be denied the right. In order to be a citizen you must have either been born here(which means you should already know english) or naturalized(which requires that you pass a english compression test). The government should not cater to lazy ****s who refuse to learn our language. So the answer to the poll is not only no but hell no.Especially seeing how you must be a US citizen to even register to vote.
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I hate to bust your chops to prove a point, but seriously dude...

YOU should already know that the language known as English is always capitalized.

What is "english compression?"

Your punctuation leaves something to be desired, too.

Are you one of those lazy ****s that refuses to learn our language? :doh

The point is this: a significant number of people born and raised here either can't read English or write well enough to be properly understood by other English speakers. They do things like james has done; try to convey ideas using incorrect / misspelled words, improper punctuation, and poor sentence structure.

You and I can figure out what james is trying to get across, but his post might well be unintelligible to those who speak English as a second language. As already noted, political and fiscal issues are difficult enough to understand as it is. I'd like voters to be SURE of what they're voting for before they check the box.

If that means we translate for them, so be it. Ballots should be offered in the languages most prevalent among the constituency being polled.




Besides, I'm a proofreader of foreign language election materials. It keeps me in beer and Skittles. ;)
 
English only. If you cannot speak English, chances are that you couldn't immerse yourself properly in American culture or economics.

This is Rome, and when you're here you do as we do. If I move to Mexico, hablo ingles, muchas gracias.

If you disagree, "lo siento". No, wait...that's not what I meant. Oh yeah. "Callate, pendejo."

Si. That's it.
 
Gipper said:
English only. If you cannot speak English, chances are that you couldn't immerse yourself properly in American culture or economics.

This is Rome, and when you're here you do as we do. If I move to Mexico, hablo ingles, muchas gracias.

If you disagree, "lo siento". No, wait...that's not what I meant. Oh yeah. "Callate, pendejo."

Si. That's it.
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And you wonder why the rest of the world cant stand Americans.
 
Hoplite said:
And you wonder why the rest of the world cant stand Americans.
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I don't think that's really true. It's a stereotype and gross exaggeration.
 
Glinda said:
I hate to bust your chops to prove a point, but seriously dude...

YOU should already know that the language known as English is always capitalized.

What is "english compression?"

Your punctuation leaves something to be desired, too.

Are you one of those lazy ****s that refuses to learn our language? :doh

The point is this: a significant number of people born and raised here either can't read English or write well enough to be properly understood by other English speakers. They do things like james has done; try to convey ideas using incorrect / misspelled words, improper punctuation, and poor sentence structure.

You and I can figure out what james is trying to get across, but his post might well be unintelligible to those who speak English as a second language. As already noted, political and fiscal issues are difficult enough to understand as it is. I'd like voters to be SURE of what they're voting for before they check the box.

If that means we translate for them, so be it. Ballots should be offered in the languages most prevalent among the constituency being polled.




Besides, I'm a proofreader of foreign language election materials. It keeps me in beer and Skittles. ;)
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How does you being a grammar Nazi change the fact that if you are a naturalized(english proficiency is one of the requirements to be a naturalized citizen) or a natural born citizen change the fact that you should be able to proficiently write, speak and read english(look I didn't capitalize english again)? If are a lazy **** who does not know how to proficiently speak or read english(look I didn't capitalize english again) then most likely you are not citizen and therefore have no right to vote in the first place. So there is no reason ballots should be bi or multilingual.
 
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Jucon said:
As much as I'd love all U.S. citizens to speak one language, that is an unreasonable expectation. Immigrants come from all over the world and their English can be very broken.
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Uhhhhhhh......... FAIL!!!!!

Section 312 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides that most applicants for naturalization demonstrate an understanding of the English language, including an ability to read, write, and speak words in ordinary usage in the English language, as well as a knowledge of U.S. government and history (civics)1. This document provides a general description of how the U.S. Naturalization Test is evaluated and scored by Officers of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
SPEAKING: An applicant’s verbal skills are determined by the applicant’s answers to questions normally asked by USCIS Officers during the naturalization eligibility interview. USCIS Officers are required to repeat and rephrase questions until the Officer is satisfied that the applicant either fully understands the question or does not understand English. If the applicant generally understands and can respond meaningfully to questions relevant to the determination of eligibility, the applicant has demonstrated the ability to speak English.
READING: To sufficiently demonstrate the ability to read in English, applicants must read one sentence, out of three sentences, in a manner suggesting to the USCIS Officer that the applicant appears to understand the meaning of the sentence. Once the applicant reads one of three sentences correctly, USCIS procedures require that the USCIS Officer will stop administering the reading test. Applicants shall not be failed because of their accent when speaking English. A general description of how the reading test is scored follows:
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http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Resource...ization Test/PDFs/Test_Scoring_Guidelines.pdf
 
Southern Man said:
English should be our official language, and required for citizenship. Using one language is the most efficient method of conducting commerce. It is also the language that our founding documents were written.
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It is...........and BTW, voting in a Federal election for non-citizens is grounds for never getting citizenship.

I really don't understand the poll.... just follow the law.
 
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I neither wonder, nor care. I'm blessed to not give a damn what others think, and not live in a state that rolls over and plays dead like an opossum when invaded by illegals.
 
jamesrage said:
if you are ... a natural born citizen ... you should be able to proficiently write, speak and read english
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"English" should be capitalized. You've failed your own lame test, because YOU can't write proficiently in English. :doh

jamesrage said:
If are a lazy **** who does not know how to proficiently speak or read english then most likely you are not citizen and therefore have no right to vote in the first place. So there is no reason ballots should be bi or multilingual.
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"If are a lazy...?" What does "if are" mean? Again, you've failed your own lame test, because YOU can't write proficiently in English, so, using your logic, you must be "a lazy ****" and

jamesrage said:
most likely you are not a citizen and therefore have no right to vote in the first place.
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Finally, by your own standards, since you cannot express yourself proficiently in written English and are therefore most likely not a citizen and have no right to vote in the first place, how about leaving this to actual Americans to discuss?


:roll:

Jesus. It's like talking to a dining room table.
 
Hoplite said:
And you wonder why the rest of the world cant stand Americans.
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If I moved to Mexico to live long-term, let alone became a Mexican citizen with the right to vote in Mexican elections... I'd expect to have to habla espanol, by golly!
 
Your Star said:
There is no official language in the US. Sure the common language is English, but there is no official language of the state. So yes, people should get a ballot in the language of their choice.
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Are you willing to pay for all this?
Do you want the mess that exists in other nations(China,India for two)
I am not willing to pay and a mess I do not want, we have enough problems..
For 200 years immigrants had to learn the language, and now thats not right?
There must be legislation to have English as the only language, also, an end to "small print".
 
Glinda said:
I hate to bust your chops to prove a point, but seriously dude...

YOU should already know that the language known as English is always capitalized.

What is "english compression?"

Your punctuation leaves something to be desired, too.

Are you one of those lazy ****s that refuses to learn our language? :doh

The point is this: a significant number of people born and raised here either can't read English or write well enough to be properly understood by other English speakers. They do things like james has done; try to convey ideas using incorrect / misspelled words, improper punctuation, and poor sentence structure.

You and I can figure out what james is trying to get across, but his post might well be unintelligible to those who speak English as a second language. As already noted, political and fiscal issues are difficult enough to understand as it is. I'd like voters to be SURE of what they're voting for before they check the box.

If that means we translate for them, so be it. Ballots should be offered in the languages most prevalent among the constituency being polled.




Besides, I'm a proofreader of foreign language election materials. It keeps me in beer and Skittles. ;)
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A critique of other's language use(spelling,grammar) is long overdue..
Good to finally see one do this...
For this, which takes "balls", a thank you.
As others have noted, one must know their English before voting...its only being politically correct to have other languages for the voters.
The voters need only one thing , the truth, and in English..
Do we have this?
 
Hoplite said:
And you wonder why the rest of the world cant stand Americans.
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I do not know if this is true.
I do know that there is envy and jealously in other nations.
Our problems are hatred, fear and ignorance.
 
At one time, assimilation into American society and culture was a proud goal of legal immigrants....

What happened?

Weak kneed, politically correct, pandering politicians is what happened.
 
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Redress said:
The cutoff is in the realm of common sense. How many languages can you reasonably supply, let's say 10. Pick the 10 most likely languages to be needed. It's not a hard concept if you just put a tiny bit of thought into it.
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Nor is it a huge burden or expense.
 
webrockk said:
At one time, assimilation into American society and culture was a proud goal of legal immigrants....

What happened?
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It's still there. What makes you think it isn't? It's the same as it's always been -- the older generation moving here has a harder time of it, but the kids learn English quickly, get assimilated, and within a generation fit right in.

Or were you around in the 1920s to tell us how it was different then?
 
Aunt Spiker said:
Exactly.
Important things should be as easy to understand as possible.

Instructions aren't written in multiple languages for no reason, they're written in multiple languages because it's very important that the person reading and following them can understand everything.

It's a completely different issue than a unified or national language.
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Right.

We're talking about ballot questions after all, not names of candidates which are never translated anyway. Ballot questions are often confusing enough in English!
 
Groucho said:
It's still there. What makes you think it isn't? It's the same as it's always been -- the older generation moving here has a harder time of it, but the kids learn English quickly, get assimilated, and within a generation fit right in.

Or were you around in the 1920s to tell us how it was different then?
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It's not even close to the same. Why don't you attempt to "honestly" relay how it is...in 2010, instead of presenting some predictable leftie obfuscation hoping to once again throw folks off the scent of your putrid agenda.
 
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