{"id":2013,"date":"2025-02-18T16:47:17","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T21:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/?post_type=press&p=2013"},"modified":"2025-02-18T16:47:17","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T21:47:17","slug":"hearing-makes-case-for-expanding-language-access-on-the-ballot","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/press\/hearing-makes-case-for-expanding-language-access-on-the-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing Makes Case for Expanding Language Access on the Ballot"},"template":"","class_list":["post-2013","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Annapolis, MD \u2013 HB983, the language access component of the Maryland Voting Rights Act legislative package, was heard in the House of Delegates Ways & Means Committee today. This legislation would expand language access for Maryland voters, ensuring that voters with limited English proficiency have access to the ballot box.\u00a0","featured_image":"","press_type":145,"authors":"","related_issues":[97,442,108],"related_work":false,"location":23},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Advocates Urge House Ways & Means Committee to Vote Favorably on HB983<\/em>\r\n\r\nAnnapolis, MD \u2013 <\/strong>HB983<\/a>, the language access component of the Maryland Voting Rights Act legislative package, was heard in the House of Delegates Ways & Means Committee today. This legislation would expand language access for Maryland voters, ensuring that voters with limited English proficiency have access to the ballot box.\r\n\r\n\u201cAs we enter an era of increasing uncertainty on the continuation of federal voting rights protections, Maryland needs its own standards to protect access to voting,\u201d said bill sponsor Delegate Bernice Mireku-North (D-Montgomery)<\/strong>. \u201cContinuing to rely solely on the federal framework ignores Maryland's growing language minority communities, who will benefit from the increased language-related assistance and materials provided in the bill. This includes Maryland's sizable French, Amharic, and Arabic-speaking communities. This bill will also benefit Maryland's growing Hispanic communities by expanding Spanish language assistance. As Maryland communities continue to diversify, House Bill 983 is a necessary continuation of the effort to ensure all voters, regardless of language proficiency, have access to the ballot.\u201d\r\n\r\nMaryland is the most diverse state on the East Coast, and has a large number of limited English proficient voters. While Maryland has worked hard to strengthen voting accessibility, voters only benefit if the options for voting and the overall process are in a language they can understand.\r\n\r\n\u201cMaryland is home to four of the most ethnically diverse municipalities in the nation, and nearly 79% of Maryland voters support expanding language assistance for voters with limited English proficiency,\u201d said Isabelle Muhlbauer, National Advocacy Manager of Voting Rights at LatinoJustice PRLDEF<\/strong>. \u201cUninhibited access to the ballot is at the core of a representative democracy. Approving the Maryland Voting Act would help ensure that all voters, including historically marginalized communities, can freely have their voices heard at the ballot box.\u201d\r\n\r\nHB983 would provide more access for limited English proficient voters by requiring a county to provide assistance in a particular language when those who speak that language make up at least 2% of the population (and number and least 100 people) or have a total population of at least 4,000. This is a lower threshold than the federal VRA, and would expand language access in more places.\r\n\r\nUnder the legislation, the State Board of Elections would determine which places meet this threshold every two years based on census data. HB983 requires translation of all election related materials, excluding ballots, establishes a process for ensuring the accuracy of the translations, and encourages recruitment of election judges who speak the languages meeting the threshold in each jurisdiction.\r\n\r\n\u201cI grew up in a mixed household where Haitian Creole was spoken at home. My mom is a naturalized citizen and votes in each election, but language still sometimes serves as a barrier,\u201d said Joanne Antoine, Executive Director of Common Cause Maryland.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cThings like complicated ballot questions can be hard to understand, even for a person whose first language is English. It\u2019s that much more difficult for a lot of new American voters. Thankfully, she has me to support, but many other voters don\u2019t have access to that assistance. The passage of HB 983 would ensure that our elections are genuinely inclusive by expanding our translations to cover even the Caribbean and African languages.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cEvery Marylander should be able to make their voice heard without barriers. Citizens should not face barriers like a lack of meaningful language assistance as they seek to make their voices heard and participate meaningfully in our democracy,\u201d said Lata Nott, senior legal counsel for voting rights at Campaign Legal Center<\/strong>. \u201cMaryland has the chance to go above and beyond federal language assistance requirements and assure new American communities that their political participation is both welcome and encouraged.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe full hearing can be viewed here<\/a>.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n "}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}}]},"yoast_head":"\nHearing Makes Case for Expanding Language Access on the Ballot - Common Cause Maryland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/press\/hearing-makes-case-for-expanding-language-access-on-the-ballot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hearing Makes Case for Expanding Language Access on the Ballot\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/press\/hearing-makes-case-for-expanding-language-access-on-the-ballot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Maryland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/press\/hearing-makes-case-for-expanding-language-access-on-the-ballot\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/press\/hearing-makes-case-for-expanding-language-access-on-the-ballot\/\",\"name\":\"Hearing Makes Case for Expanding Language Access on the Ballot - 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