Community Organizations Work to Engage Limited-English-Speaking Voters

King County voters have received their ballots by now — and for many, the language that their ballot and voter’s pamphlet arrives in doesn’t require a second thought. But over 30% of residents in the county speak a language other than English at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — about 10% higher than the rate for the entire state.

Foreign language speakers are even more concentrated in the South End, with 60 different languages spoken in Southeast Seattle. In Beacon Hill, 50% of residents speak a language other than English at home as well as 35% of residents in Rainier Beach.

King County offers ballots and voter’s pamphlets in six languages other than English: Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Somali, and Vietnamese. Voters who would like to receive their ballots in one of these languages can change their language preference online, by phone, via email, or in person. Once they’ve signed up, they will continue receiving election information in their preferred language for future elections.

This election season, King County residents have requested over 7,800 translated ballots.

But voters aren’t always aware that they have access to ballots in their primary language. Community organizations are working to bridge that gap.

“People who are registering for the first time to vote … that's definitely something I have to prompt,” said Humberto Marquez Jr., voting engagement organizer at El Centro de la Raza. “It seems like when I offer it to people, their eyes do light up, it does seem like it's something they didn't know beforehand, and something they are very appreciative of.”

The past few months, El Centro has been tabling at about two events a week to engage people, particularly Latinos, in Beacon Hill and Federal Way to register to vote and learn about the various statewide initiatives that are on the ballot this November. It is not the only organization doing so; the Chinese Information and Service Center co-hosted a candidate forum, and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service engages voters in events like ballot parties and phone banks.

“When you get all those texts and those phone calls during election season, a lot of those folks do not reach out to people that have limited English proficiency, that don't have English as their first language,” said Shomya Tripathy, director of policy and civic engagement at ACRS. “We really take it as a priority and responsibility for us to make sure not only are those folks reached out to, but that they actually know how to participate and feel empowered to do so.”

A common thread between these organizations is they work with immigrants who work towards becoming citizens. Marquez said he’s noticed that new citizens are very excited to vote and will often register right away. At the same time, there can also be confusion and some hesitation around asking questions about the voting process.

Jinxia/Hayley Wu, community engagement coordinator at ACRS, said one of the most effective ways to combat this and encourage people to participate and ask questions is by forming a relationship with them. 

“As they start coming to ACRS … more, and they have a connection with their case manager, they also see me regularly coming over to talk to them about voting,” Wu said. “So sometimes when they see me in the hallway … then they will talk to me about some of their voting questions. They’ll say, ‘Hey, I received my ballot. I don't know what to do with this. Can you help me?’”

In addition to engaging limited English speakers to vote, El Centro and ACRS also educate them about the races — such as explaining the role of a public lands commissioner, for example — and initiatives.

Wu said even though the ballots and the voter guides come in translated versions, the wording of the initiatives can be confusing and difficult to parse. ACRS held a ballot party so clients could bring in their ballots and get clarity about what the initiatives actually mean.

“We're very lucky to live in a city, in a county specifically, that really prioritizes language access, but it's unfortunately a lot more complicated than that,” Tripathy said. “Sometimes it's not just a matter of translation — it's building an education around what some of these things mean, which is something that I think we try to do, but something that we've struggled with for sure.”

Whether or not limited English speakers decide to vote is ultimately their choice, Tripathy said, but policymakers will continue making decisions that affect them regardless.

“From who has a right to certain benefits, to whether certain materials get translated, to whether there's a transit system being built in their neighborhood, there's constantly decisions being made about their lives,” Tripathy said. “When we encourage them to engage in elections, it's really as a starter to engage in the systems that are determining [their] lives. The reason that we want folks who have limited English proficiency to engage in the electoral process is so that they get a say in what decisions are being made about them.”