Athens-Clarke County to offer Spanish-language ballots

Athens-Clarke County will be offering Spanish language ballots to voters for the first time in November. This adjustment will accommodate Spanish speaking voters who may have difficulties voting due to language translation barriers. 

“It is the beauty of the government to make sure that all of the residents, all of those citizens, have the tools to vote,” Brittany Lopez, a current University of Georgia student, activist and Cedar Shoals alumni, said. “Advocates want to ensure that all individuals have access to the right to vote without frustration, regardless of their primary language.”

Lopez and others began advocating a year ago, aiming to ensure Hispanic voters have access to ballots in Spanish. Organizations in Northeast Georgia, including Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Latino Community Fund, sent letters of support to advocates in Athens who proposed this initiative to the Board of Elections. Other support came from local groups such as U-Lead Athens and Dignidad Immigrante.

“I think it’s very important for people who do not speak English to understand what they’re doing, and to be able to have that option: to be able to communicate, to be able to read and say, ‘Okay, this is what I want. This is what I really want,’” said Blanca Chagoya, an Athens resident who plans to vote using a Spanish language ballot in November. 

The language minority provisions of the Voting Rights Act mandate that states offer voting materials including ballots and useful forms in the native languages of populations with limited English proficiency. 

According to a Data USA report from 2022, 9% (19,500 people) of Athens-Clarke County residents were Hispanic. Since then, the Hispanic population has grown to 11.2%. Athens is federally required to provide ballots in Spanish because 5% or more of the voting population has a limited English proficiency.

To implement this new initiative, advocates from Athens, Georgia connected with the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections, including Chairman Rocky Raffle, Secretary Adam Shirley and ACC Commissioner (District 6) Jesse Houle. As a result, the ACC Board of Elections successfully authorized Spanish-language ballots for Hispanic voters with the help of voices from individuals and organizations. 

“My hope is that everyone has an equal opportunity to be able to vote. So if two people use it (Spanish-language ballots), in my mind, that’s success. If hundreds of people use it, wonderful. Everyone that’s a citizen of the United States should have an opportunity to be able to vote,” Raffle said.