August 29, 2024
PHILADELPHIA – All Voting is Local Pennsylvania, in collaboration with a coalition of nonpartisan, immigrant-led organizations, issued a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of State today to request that it urgently expand language access in voting materials. The letter highlighted the critical need for voter registration and vote-by-mail forms in languages beyond those currently required by federal law.
With Pennsylvania’s increasing diversity, there is an urgent need to provide voting materials in languages that reflect the state’s population. According to the coalition’s analysis of U.S. Census data, as many as 250,000 eligible voters in Pennsylvania could benefit directly from expanded language resources. This is not merely a policy issue, but a fundamental matter of democratic rights, and the Pennsylvania Department of State must urgently right these wrongs.
“The ability to participate in our democracy should not be limited by language barriers,” said Al-Sharif Nassef, Pennsylvania senior campaign manager at All Voting is Local. “We’re calling on the Pennsylvania Department of State to recognize the importance of language access and ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to make their voice heard this year, regardless of the language they speak. As Americans, this is their constitutional right.”
In the letter, the coalition demands that the state expand language access to include 10 additional languages: Vietnamese, Pennsylvania German, Russian, Nepali, Korean, Arabic, Bengali, Italian, Gujarati, French, and Khemr (Cambodian). These languages represent the voices of tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians who have historically been marginalized in the voting process. The letter also outlines how these changes can be implemented with minimal cost and maximum impact.
This initiative builds on the success of a 2023 effort in Montgomery County, where All Voting is Local, alongside partners like the Woori Center, successfully advocated for multilingual voting materials. The success in Montgomery County set a precedent for inclusive voting practices across the state.
You can find the full letter here.