[matt @ Jul 31st 2007 12:28PM]

Seriously, what annoys me more is that they dinged these machines for not properly supporting non-English-speaking voters. With all due respect to immigrants (I support legal immigration and visa etc...), Why are people voting if they can't even read the Constitution, the politician's websites, newspapers, or the voter ballot? If they can't read about the issues, how can they vote rationally or intelligently?

[NeoteriX @ Jul 31st 2007 1:33PM]

You may be pretty naive if you don't think non-English speaking citizens cannot functionally participate in our democratic government. For instance, Hillary Clinton has her whole site translated into Spanish: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/es/

Furthermore, there is 1% ethnic language speaking population requirement for ballots and other voting materials to be provided in another language, per the Voting Rights Act. If you go to any community that meets that minimum requirement, I will guarantee that there will be local ethnic print media (with coverage of the election) and maybe even ethnic radio broadcasts. Some areas even have ethnic local television statements.

Do not discount the importance of family--many immigrant households may have one or a handful of English speakers, and there are most certainly discussions on the candidates, with family members who are more politically attuned informing others.

Lastly, let's not forget the fact that immigrants may have developed conversational English, so that they may watch the news, listen to the radio, and discuss politics with friends; however, they may not have the reading skills necessary to read a ballot and vote.

It's a very erroneous view to think that Immigrants can't vote, and it's probably the strongest advantage of electronic voting.

[matt @ Jul 31st 2007 3:58PM]

I see your point, but I have to ask two things: Aren't you required to read English to become a citizen? Don't you have to be a citizen to vote?

Maybe, I am wrong, but I always assumed that the answer to both of those was 'yes.' Therefore, the whole issue seemed to be a moot point (or an attempt at allowing undocumented people to vote).

Still, if the law requires that voters have the option for a ballot in their native language, then it should be provided. After all, it is the law and we should all honor the laws regardless of our opinion.

[NeoteriX @ Jul 31st 2007 5:02PM]

While the "Ability to read, write, and speak English" is listed as a requirement of naturalization, the way it is explained to me is that this is a very loose guideline. In other words, the testing requires a bare minimum of English ability; and people may pass naturalization without being anywhere near proficient in English.

I may also add that for local Bonds, ordinances, and other measures where you are not just voting for a candidate, but are voting on a particular local issue, they can get quite complex, and even if your English ability is decent, it may help tremendously to have that in your native language.

I know when I read the local propositions, even as a law student and native English speaker, I need to read them several times before I'm sure of what they stand for (sometimes I use the League of Women's voter guide to help--which is incidentally also printed in several languages)