U.S. Election Assistance Commission

WASHINGTON – The U. S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has issued glossaries of election terms in five Asian languages to make voting more accessible to citizens with limited English proficiency. The glossaries are published in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese—the most widely spoken Asian languages in the United States. Electronic copies of the glossaries are available at www.eac.gov.

These glossaries will help minority language citizens gain full and equal access to the polls, a right granted by the Voting Rights Act. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 1.6 million citizens over age 18 speak an Asian or Pacific Island language at home and English less than “very well.”

Section 203 of the Act requires jurisdictions with large minority language populations (including Hispanic and Native Alaskan and American Indian) to provide translated voting materials, such as registration notices and ballots.

Currently seven states—Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Texas and Washington—have jurisdictions that must provide Asian language materials to voters.

The EAC has distributed the glossaries to state and local election officials and nonprofit civic organizations to aid minority language voters in understanding how and where to vote. Each glossary includes translations of more than 1,800 election terms dealing with all aspects of voting, from requesting an absentee ballot to casting a vote on Election Day.

“These glossaries will support our voter education work tremendously,” says Vida Benavides, interim executive director of the Asian Pacific Islander American Vote, a voter advocacy group. “Language is central to our work of cultivating a culture of civic involvement in the Asian American community, yet organizations like ours don’t have the resources to publish a comprehensive translation of election terms.” 

By issuing these glossaries, the EAC is fulfilling a duty under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to make voting more accessible to all citizens. To this end, the EAC also features content on its Web site in Spanish and five Asian languages, and is working on language resources for voters who speak Native Alaskan and American Indian languages.

To receive a copy of the Asian or Spanish language glossaries, submit a request online at www.eac.gov or call Edgardo Cortes or Laiza Otero toll-free at (866) 747-1471.

The EAC is an independent bipartisan commission created by the Help America Vote Act.  The EAC serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration.  It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment.  It is also charged with developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form.  The four EAC commissioners are Rosemary Rodriguez, chair; Caroline Hunter, vice chair; Gracia Hillman; and Donetta Davidson.