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Should the government provide ballots in languages other than English?

Should the government provide ballots in languages other than English?


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MyOwnDrum

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My state offers ballots in:

Additional Languages and Formats
Choose your language:

» Chinese
» Spanish
» Cambodian
» Korean
» Laotian
» Russian
» Vietnamese

How do you feel about this? If ballots are offered in these languages, does that discriminate against immigrants that speak different languages? Should ballots in the U.S. be offered in any language other than English?
 
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.
 
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.

So, you think that the government should provide ballots in every single language possibly spoken by an immigrant?

Is that practical or reasonable?
 
So, you think that the government should provide ballots in every single language possibly spoken by an immigrant?

Is that practical or reasonable?

They could at least provide them in the languages that people are likely to speak.

» Chinese
» Spanish
» Cambodian
» Korean
» Laotian
» Russian
» Vietnamese

If those are the languages spoken by a significant number of people in your state, then that makes sense.
 
They could at least provide them in the languages that people are likely to speak.



If those are the languages spoken by a significant number of people in your state, then that makes sense.

What about an immigrant who speaks a less common language? He/She would be marginalized. Where is the cut off?
 
So, you think that the government should provide ballots in every single language possibly spoken by an immigrant?

Is that practical or reasonable?

Yes one way or another everybody should have access to understand a ballot whether on is in your language, theres an interpreter you can go to etc. even if one has to be mailed to you.

Yes the details need worked out but everybody that has the right to vote should get to vote and id hate to think that this would be something that stopped them from their equal right
 
What about an immigrant who speaks a less common language? He/She would be marginalized. Where is the cut off?

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.
 
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.

Theoretically I'm sure that a discrimination suit could be filed. I'm speaking about fairness here. Should the fact that a new citizen comes from an obscure country be grounds to deny him a ballot in his own language. Is that concept too complicated for you to grasp, dear?
 
What about an immigrant who speaks a less common language? He/She would be marginalized.

They're allowed to ask for help when voting.

MyOwnDrum said:
Where is the cut off?

Your state seems to strike a pretty good balance, providing ballots in all the languages that a significant number of people speak.
 
Theoretically I'm sure that a discrimination suit could be filed. I'm speaking about fairness here. Should the fact that a new citizen comes from an obscure country be grounds to deny him a ballot in his own language. Is that concept too complicated for you to grasp, dear?

I doubt such a lawsuit would go far. Fairness says do what you can within your ability, which is exactly what I suggested. It's a simple issue with a simple solution.
 
Theoretically I'm sure that a discrimination suit could be filed.

For a discrimination suit to be successful, it generally requires the plaintiff to prove that the defendant acted unreasonably. No polling location can reasonably be expected to stock ballots in Quechua, if only one family in the entire district speaks Quechua.

MyOwnDrum said:
I'm speaking about fairness here. Should the fact that a new citizen comes from an obscure country be grounds to deny him a ballot in his own language. Is that concept too complicated for you to grasp, dear?

Should they get a ballot in their own language, in a perfect world? Yes. Can the state be reasonably expected to provide ballots for every single language? No.
 
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No, I think English should be the national language of the United States, and all federal matters should be carried out solely in English. And it should damn well be American English too, not that fruity crap they speak over in Britain.
 
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.
 
My state offers ballots in:

Additional Languages and Formats
Choose your language:

» Chinese
» Spanish
» Cambodian
» Korean
» Laotian
» Russian
» Vietnamese

How do you feel about this? If ballots are offered in these languages, does that discriminate against immigrants that speak different languages? Should ballots in the U.S. be offered in any language other than English?

I voted that ballots should only be provided for the most common languages. Specifically, I think they should be provided for the most common languages spoken in that state. The state knows what kind of population it has, and how best to serve it.
 
English only.

If I were a citizen of Thailand, I wouldn't expect special treatment by the government and be provided a ballot in English simply because I can't be bothered to learn the language. I would expect that I would have to learn to read and speak Thai.
 
My state offers ballots in:

Additional Languages and Formats
Choose your language:

» Chinese
» Spanish
» Cambodian
» Korean
» Laotian
» Russian
» Vietnamese

How do you feel about this? If ballots are offered in these languages, does that discriminate against immigrants that speak different languages? Should ballots in the U.S. be offered in any language other than English?

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.
 
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.

You know, that's actually a good point that I didn't consider.
 
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.
 
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.

We should also add the provision that any text that is intended for public consumption (i.e. descriptions of issues on ballots, etc.) should be written in common English that the average person only needs to read once to understand.
 
If this country is going to allow immigrants from other countries then some kind of accommodations should be made for areas that have larger populations of certain language groups. It could be a master ballot that uses photos. We have enough technology I'm sure inexpensive methods could be devised. Sure English runs the country but, common sense needs to be used also.

To demand and restrict all ballots be only in English seems un-American and a Rovian-like way to disenfranchise certain groups from voting.
 
My state offers ballots in:

Additional Languages and Formats
Choose your language:

» Chinese
» Spanish
» Cambodian
» Korean
» Laotian
» Russian
» Vietnamese

How do you feel about this? If ballots are offered in these languages, does that discriminate against immigrants that speak different languages? Should ballots in the U.S. be offered in any language other than English?

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.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/blvrbystate.htm

http://www.eac.gov/files/voter/nvra_update.pdf
 
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We need to legally make English the common language.

A nation can survive being multi-cultural, perhaps... I doubt a nation can long survive having too many citizens who are unable to communicate with most other citizens.
 
No, I think English should be the national language of the United States, and all federal matters should be carried out solely in English. And it should damn well be American English too, not that fruity crap they speak over in Britain.
There is no such thing as "American English." We have a theoretical set of rules for everyone, but in practice English changes depending on where you are in the country. If you want to demonstrate that, throw a guy from California, one from New York, one from Minnesota, and one from Arkansas in a room and have them talk.

English only.

If I were a citizen of Thailand, I wouldn't expect special treatment by the government and be provided a ballot in English simply because I can't be bothered to learn the language. I would expect that I would have to learn to read and speak Thai.
Even though many Thai citizens have learned to speak English?
 
You know, that's actually a good point that I didn't consider.

I think the focus on this issue is often too specific - barring out other reasons for multi-language instructions, signs, etc - important things should be as easy to understand as possible.
 
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