Cecilie1200
Diamond Member
In order to vote you have to be a citizen. To become a citizen you have to know some English. Why do they print ballots in other languages?
58% Want English-Only Ballots - Rasmussen Reports
In order to be a citizen, you do have to know "some" English. I think they print ballots in other languages in order to make it possible for those who knew enough English to become a citizen to vote, but who might not be able to understand the writing on the ballots. As you know, ballots contain more than just names. They also contain detailed arguments pro and con on the people running and the issues before the electorate.
Don't forget, this is America. You know that lady who stands in the harbor in New York, right?
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus, 1883
They know some english, but don't understand the writing Secondly, are you suggesting that they are using the ballot to inform themselves of candidate's positions, and issues? They have no prior knowledge? How did they know where to go to vote? Are street signs in hebrew?
You didn't know that speaking a language is different from reading and writing it? It's actually a lot easier to learn verbal communication than it is to learn written. That's why children learn to talk well before they learn to read and write.
I am suggesting that they are using the description on the ballot to understand which issue they're voting on on that particular line, and what the meaning of a "Yes" or "No" vote is, which is necessary on a ballot that can have a dozen or more initiatives on it, often with two or three dealing with the same or similar topic in different ways. Also, the initiatives can often be written confusingly, requiring you to pay close attention to be sure which answer will give you the result you want. I've seen a few that even I had to look at twice to be clear on.
Street signs are not even remotely similar to initiative descriptions, and you know it. Don't be disingenuous. I don't speak OR read Spanish, but I can still read and pronounce the Spanish names of streets around here.