The Badger Herald

OPINION & EDITORIAL

Non-Engish voices need representation

Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.

Also by Jeff Carnes:

Gay frat diversifies Greeks (May 4, 2007)
Problems in city's environment vast (April 26, 2007)
State budget must keep UW in mind (April 19, 2007)
Students should take responsiblity for credit card debts (April 12, 2007)
State must confront brain drain issue (March 29, 2007)

by Jeff Carnes

Thursday, October 26, 2006

With the election under two weeks away, voters are making their final choices for whom they will vote on Nov. 7. Candidates are trying to influence those voters who have not made a decision. The State Election Board is gearing up for the election, ensuring that there is a free and transparent election. With the long list of new voting rules the State Election Board enacted this year, there has been some confusion on campus and throughout the state about new rules in voter registration, such as what documentation a voter has to provide in order to establish residency.

The State Elections Board has enacted new changes to voter registration, such as the requirement of including a driver's license number or last four digits of the voter's social security number on registration forms. The State Elections Board also produced voter registration and absentee voter applications in Spanish and Hmong for the first time. The federal government requires states to print voting materials for minority groups that are above 5 percent of the state's population and have limited English proficiency. The Spanish and Hmong populations who speak their native language at home, which total approximately 180,000 and 21,000 residents respectively according to the American Community Survey, are not large enough to qualify for federally-mandated voting materials in their native languages. The state, however, took the measure at the request of these communities as well as to broaden the democratic process, according to Kevin Kennedy, the State Election Board's executive director.

Groups on both sides of the debate have chimed in, and the printing of voting materials in languages other than English has created some strange bedfellows. Groups such as ProEnglish, who advocate making English the official language of the United States, oppose such a measure because it undermines the assimilation process of immigrants. Those who support the issue include the liberal American Civil Liberties Union and conservative U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. Rep. Sensenbrenner has supported "English only" initiatives in Congress but believes that no voter should be confused about how to vote for the candidate of his choice.

Within the United States, there has always been a debate over whether English should be the official language of our country. Those who support adopting English as the official language of the United States say that the lack of English language skills hinders immigrants integrating into American society. Without basic language skills, many immigrants find it difficult to find a job or even receive proper medical care. Groups who oppose this measure, such as the ACLU, state that instituting an "English Only" policy will only produce more harm than good. Forcing immigrants to use English may lead to hassles, confusion or even harm if there are no materials in Spanish and Hmong in hospitals or government offices. This debate has been ongoing for decades, and there is no easy solution for the problem of language use in the relatively monolingual United States.

Steps to provide government services in languages other than English will always spark this debate. The intention of the State Election Board is both well-intentioned and proactive. The board is doing its part to spread the democratic process to more voters. The candidates, however, are not.

While Hispanic and Hmong voters will be able to register to vote in their native language, they will face difficulties in finding Spanish and Hmong-language information about the candidates from the candidates' own websites. The campaign website for Rep. Mark Green has no information in Spanish or Hmong, and Gov. Jim Doyle has only one podcast in Spanish at the very bottom of his webpage. U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin and rival Dave Magnum also have English-only websites. Advocacy groups such as Fair Wisconsin and the Family Research Institute of Wisconsin also have monolingual websites. Even Rep. Sensenbrenner, who advocates a multilingual approach to voting, has only English on his campaign website. Only the ACLU has complete Spanish pages on its website.

It is difficult enough to educate the English-speaking American public on issues that face their local areas and the state. For those who do not speak English as their native language, there are added barriers to finding information about candidates so that they too can make educated decisions on Election Day. The candidates themselves in Wisconsin are failing those groups who need campaign information in languages other than English. Hispanic and Hmong voters can now register to vote in their native language, but the candidates leave these voting blocks with little information to make a decision Nov. 7.

Jeff Carnes (jmcarnes@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in linguistics.

Feedback

Show all comments

Hide anonymous comments

Anonymous (October 26, 2006 @ 6:18am):

Isn't there some requirement to learn English in order to become a naturalized US citizen?

Aren't you required to be a US citizens in order to vote?

Also, the Tower of Babel story may just be a myth but I think it still has a lesson.

Anonymous (October 26, 2006 @ 7:40am):

Maybe we should make 10 different languages of stop signs, or 10 different versions of interstate signs. I'm a self-proclaimed Liberal, but I seriously think you only need the most basic English to cast a vote. Learn English, it will be to your benefit everywhere, not just in the voting booth.

Anonymous (October 26, 2006 @ 10:06am):

I to am a self proclaimed Liberal, but I think that if want to have the right to vote, the privilege of driving in this country you need to speak English at least within the first two years of living here. I also believe that the government should be funding English classes for people that want to or are in the process of becoming Americans.

Anonymous (October 26, 2006 @ 10:27am):

They can't be expected to know what they're doing if it's never explained in a language they understand. True, they will need to learn English, but this needs to be supplemented by material in their own language. It's funny, the people who are loudest about English only are also the ones who have never bothered to learn another language. Being an American isn't your birthright to be ignorant.

Anonymous (October 26, 2006 @ 10:36am):

BASIC ENGLISH LITERACY: Unless there is a serious medical condition (physical, psychological, and/or developmental disability) that can be confirmed by a medical doctor, applicants for naturalization must be able to understand, speak, read, and write basic English. In addition to the English language requirement, every applicant must be able to answer a series of questions which cover general knowledge of U.S. history and government.

The following are exempt from the English language requirement:

Persons at least 50 years of age who have been documented U.S. residents for 20
or more years (50/20)
Persons at least 55 years of age who have been documented U.S. residents for 15
or more years (55/15)

Anonymous (October 26, 2006 @ 12:17pm):

In this world the only language you MUST know is English. All other native tongues are only as useful as that secret language twins communicate with. Yes, I said it, if it's not English, it's useless. Sorry Spanish majors, but the truth hurts.

Anonymous (October 26, 2006 @ 1:38pm):

How 'bout they just learn to SPEAK ENGLISH if they are going to live here?

Anonymous (October 26, 2006 @ 2:54pm):

I wonder if they have English ballots in Mexico?

Anonymous (October 26, 2006 @ 5:00pm):

So these candidates should be forced to waste their time and money printing materials in Spanish or Hmong? Look at the flip side of this issue: it is difficult to run a campaign in one language, but to do it in several? Besides, we don't need many Latino or Hmong voters anyway, because we'll end up with a state government full of Hispanics and Asians.