Section 203

The right to vote is a fundamental right guaranteed to all citizens of the United States. Many citizens, however, especially those who are recently-naturalized, are not fully proficient in English and, thus, cannot effectively participate in the electoral process. Barriers to understanding voting materials, such as voter registration forms, ballots and complicated referenda issues that appear on ballots, can discourage many citizens from exercising their right to vote.

Recognizing the link between language barriers and low voter turnout, Congress enacted Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act in 1975. Section 203 requires certain counties and jurisdictions to provide bilingual voting materials in communities with language minorities and limited-English proficient residents. Congress reauthorized and strengthened Section 203 in 1992 to make bilingual assistance at the polls a reality for thousands of additional “language minority” voters and again reauthorized it recently in 2006. By enacting Section 203, Congress recognized that many minority citizens were not exercising their fundamental right to vote due to high illiteracy rates and unequal educational opportunities.

Another important section of the Voting Rights Act is Section 4(e), which prohibits denying the right to vote on the basis of English literacy tests for persons educated in American-flag schools where the predominant language is not English. This section applies to persons including those living in American territories or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico who are eligible to vote as U.S. citizens but were not educated in the English language. Section 4(e) prohibits persons who successfully complete the sixth grade in schools accredited by any state or territory or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, among others, from being denied the right to vote in local, state or federal elections because of the lack of English skills.

In addition, some citizens are unable to effectively participate in the voting process because of illiteracy, disability, or blindness. Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act provides another valuable resource for voters who face these challenges, by allowing such voters to receive assistance in the voting booth from a person of the voter’s choice. In addition, voters who experience difficulty with the English language and who do not have access to translated election materials can receive assistance in their primary language under Section 208.

What does Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act do?

Section 203 requires certain jurisdictions to provide language assistance to voters through the following means:

• Translations of written materials such as ballots, petitions, registration materials, and other information critical to exercising the right to vote.
• Additionally, to the extent that the jurisdictions utilize technology to provide English information to voters, such as websites designed to educate voters, they must do the same for the covered languages.
• Oral assistance by bilingual employees and trained interpreters who staff poll sites and assist with voter registration.
• Outreach to local community-based organizations that work with and have a connection to the covered communities, including promoting the availability of language assistance at the polls, recruiting for bilingual poll workers, and assessing the efficacy of the jurisdiction’s proposed language assistance plan.
• Publicity regarding the availability of bilingual assistance through notices at voter registration and polling sites, announcements in language minority radio, television and newspapers, and direct contact with language minority community organizations.