ABSTRACT
Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) requires that jurisdictions with significant concentrations of limited-English proficient (LEP) U.S. citizens provide election materials in the native languages of those citizens. Currently, Section 203’s protections only extend to Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, and Alaska Native voters. Absent from this list are other groups of English-learning or LEP citizens, such as Haitian-Americans and Arab Americans, who may face similar barriers but are not afforded similar coverage under federal law. Some localities seek to fill these gaps. Miami-Dade County in Florida requires that ballots be available in Creole in precincts where a significant portion of the electorate is Haitian-American. 2 Voters in Maine who speak French as their primary language can, through their local clerk, request ballot instructions in French from the Maine Secretary of State. 3
