The change is part of the settlement of a lawsuit that claimed the York County Board of Elections violated federal law by failing to provide ballots, materials and assistance to voters who are fluent in Spanish.
Tuesday is Election Day.For the first time ever, all voting precincts in York County will have election materials in Spanish. A number of precincts will also have bilingual ballots for the first time.The change is the result of a lawsuit filed in 2021 by
– an organization that advocates for the rights of Black, Latino, and immigrant communities – that claimed the York County Board of Elections violated federal law by failing to provide ballots, materials and assistance to voters who are fluent in Spanish.Fulvia Vargas-De Leon, an attorney with Latino Justice, represented
in the lawsuit. She said that prior to the settlement, the county had made it nearly impossible for Spanish speakers to vote.'Showing up to the poll site, knowing they have a constitutional right to vote, and yet being met with these language barriers just made them feel disenfranchised from being able to participate in our democracy,' she said.According to the U.S. Census, York County has nearly 40,000 Latino voters. Nearly one-third of them are from Puerto Rico.
's voting engagement manager, organized a door-knocking campaign to help get the word out that the polls are now more inclusive.'So much of our voting material is in English, they didn’t even understand there was an election happening. So, the last 10 days have been really impactful in making sure we get the most representation at the polls,' she said.The settlement puts these new measures in place for five years.
hopes in that time it will become a permanent fixture in York County.Report voting issuesAny voter with any issue in the voting process should report it to the Election Protection hotline. Election Protection hotline hours through Election Day are as follows: English: 866-OUR-VOTE or 866-687-8683 .Nov. 7: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. ETNov. 8-10: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ETSpanish/English: 888-VE-Y-VOTA or 888-839-8682Monday through Friday: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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