A federal judge
has ruled that Florida counties with significant Hispanic populations must provide at least sample ballots in Spanish for citizens who cannot speak or read in English.
In a partial victory for Hispanic advocacy groups, a federal judge ruled Friday that 32 Florida counties — including Lake and Brevard — must at least provide sample ballots and signage in Spanish before the Nov. 6 statewide election.
However, Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee added that those counties will not be required to provide official ballots in Spanish because county elections officials across the state would not have enough time to do so “at this juncture in the election cycle.”
In his 27-page ruling, he blasted Florida Secretary of State Kenneth Detzner and other county elections officials for failing to provide bilingual ballots to registered voters who are not proficient in English, such as Puerto Ricans who fled the island to Florida after last year’s devastating Hurricane Maria.
“Puerto Ricans are American citizens,” Walker wrote. “Unique among Americans, they are not educated primarily in English — and do not need to be. But, like all American citizens, they possess the fundamental right to vote.”
The judge added that, under the national Voting Rights Act, Florida officials must provide language assistance to Puerto Rican voters who wish to cast ballots.
Of Florida’s 67 counties, 13 provide Spanish-language ballots as required by the Voting Rights Act in counties or areas where either more than 5 percent of adult citizens or more than 10,000 adults have limited proficiency in English. Lake Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays has said that his county already provides sample ballots in Spanish that voters can take with them into the voting booth to fill out the English-only ballot. His office also has a translator to give citizens help via phone. But his office does not provide official ballots in Spanish. However, he said that his office will provide official ballots in Spanish when a significant portion of Lake’s
population reaches the 5 percent mark of Hispanic citizens.
“I don’t believe that Lake County currently hits that 5 percent juncture,” he said. “When the law requires us to do so, we certainly will.”
On Aug. 13, several organizations — including LatinoJustice, Vamos4PR and UnidosUS — filed a lawsuit claiming that the voting rights of as many as 30,000 Puerto Ricans could be violated because Florida counties do not provide sufficient Spanish-language materials — including official ballots — and assistance during this election season.
Detzner and Kim Barton, Alachua County’s supervisor of elections, were targeted in the lawsuit.
County supervisors of elections argued that their areas do not have enough citizens that speak only Spanish to justify the expense of issuing bilingual ballots. They also said they already provide enough resources for voters in Spanish.
Elections supervisors in Orange and Osceola counties have provided bilingual ballots for decades. Seminole began providing a fully bilingual ballot for the first time this year, though it has offered Spanish-language versions to Spanish speakers for several years.
“Courts have long held that the right to vote includes not only the right to physically enter a polling place and fill out a ballot,” Walker wrote, “but also the right to comprehend and understand what is on that ballot.”