U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION • LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY 1 

LANGUAGE PROVISIONS IN THE 

VOTING RIGHTS ACT

The VRA outlaws literacy- and language-based voting 

qualifications or prerequisites. 

Section 203 recognizes widespread voting 

discrimination against Alaskan Native, American 

Indian, Asian, and Hispanic language minority citizens 

and seeks to eliminate it by requiring the provision of 

minority language materials and assistance related 

to the electoral process—oral and/or written—to 

language minority groups.

Other VRA sections, including 4(e) and 208, are also 

relevant to language access.

The most recent reauthorization of the VRA in 

2006 extended Section 203 through 2032, and 

determinations were adjusted to occur every 5 years 

instead of 10.

The next round of determinations is expected in 2021.

CLEARINGHOUSE BRIEF - APRIL 2019

LANGUAGE

ACCESSIBILITY

This brief discusses language accessibility and serving 

language minority voters, including those with limited 

English proficiency (LEP). It aims to help election 

officials and other election stakeholders understand 

language assistance requirements that are mandated by 

the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) and learn how other 

jurisdictions have approached language assistance.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) 

fulfills its role as a national clearinghouse for 

information on election administration in many 

ways, including by developing resources for 

election stakeholders. Clearinghouse Briefs aim 

to aggregate existing resources and provide a 

concise summary of an issue in the field of election 

administration.

25.9 million people in the U.S. with 

limited English proficiency in 2016.1

66.6 million people in the U.S. speak a 

language other than English at home.1

263 jurisdictions and 3 states in the U.S. 

were covered by Section 203 in 2016. 53

jurisdictions were newly covered in 2016.2

51 cases initiated by the Department of 

Justice (DOJ) raising claims under VRA 

language provisions.

3

BY THE NUMBERS

Sources:

1 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year 

Estimates. https://factfinder.census.gov/

faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.

xhtml?pid=ACS_16_1YR_S1601&p

2 https://www.census.gov/rdo/data/voting_

rights_determination_file.html

3 https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section-litigation#sec203cases
U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION • LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY 2 

VRA SECTION 203 COVERAGE 

AND ENFORCEMENT

»

 A list of covered jurisdictions is published 

When the list is published, coverage becomes 

DOJ conducts outreach and offers guidance to 

 DOJ monitors compliance in covered jurisdictions,

»

»

»

DOJ's role includes informing covered 

jurisdictions and language minority communities, 

assisting with questions regarding compliance, 

and investigating allegations and taking necessary 

enforcement actions. According to the DOJ,5

keys to a successful language assistance program 

include outreach, bilingual election personnel, 

accurately translated and effectively distributed 

materials, timing, and contingency planning.

A JURISDICTION IS COVERED UNDER VRA SECTION 203 IF:4

> 10,000

The minimum number of LEP 

voting-age citizens who speak 

the same language.

> 5%

The minimum proportion 

of LEP voting-age citizens 

who speak the same language.

Illiteracy

The illiteracy rate of LEP 

citizens who speak the same 

language must exceed the 

national illiteracy rate.

OR AND

Section 203 Coverage

This map 

uses American

Community Survey

(ACS) data to show

which jurisdictions

were covered under

Section 203 in 2016 and

how close other

jurisdictions were to

meeting the coverage

criteria. In 2016, 263 

jurisdictions were covered, 

including state-wide coverage

in California, Florida, and

Texas. Roughly 113 jurisdictions 

were close to meeting the 

coverage thresholds.

Sources:

4 https://www.justice.gov/crt/about-language-minority-voting 

-rights#provisions

5 https://www.justice.gov/crt/language-minority-citizens

VRA Coverage

 Furthest from coverage

 Closer to coverage

 Closest to coverage

 Covered in 2016

 State-wide coverage in 2016
U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION • LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY 3 

CLEARINGHOUSE BRIEF

Providing Effective 

Language Assistance

Effective language assistance is rooted in understanding the 

particular needs of your voters and developing a plan tailored 

to your jurisdiction. The following pages highlight three key 

sets of issues to consider when developing and executing a 

language assistance program. The resource index at the end 

contains additional resources that provide more information on 

the topics covered in this brief. 

1 Engaging Your Language Communities

2 Translating Materials

When translating election materials and resources, consider 

what the specific needs of the language group are and what

language assistance resources might already exist.

3 Providing Assistance During the Voting Process

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO ASSIST YOUR 

VOTERS WITH LANGUAGE NEEDS?

 Leverage existing resources. 

Learn from peer election officials and 

other stakeholders. 

Work with the community to understand 

your voters’ needs. 

Again, don’t wait! Anticipate needs and 

develop a plan.







Case Study: 

DON’T WAIT! ANTICIPATE.

Anticipating language group needs 

and proactively developing plans for 

assistance benefits both the elections 

department and its voters.

Through examination of ACS data, the 

elections department in Fairfax County, 

VA, identified growing Vietnamese and 

Korean language populations ahead of 

the 2016 determination for Section 203 

coverage. Awareness that the county 

was close to being covered allowed 

the department to be proactive in 

providing assistance for both languages. 

Although the county was covered in 

2016 for Vietnamese but not Korean, 

the elections department continues to 

provide assistance for both languages 

in order to better serve their voters and 

to be prepared for potential coverage of 

Korean in the future. Fairfax County has 

also been covered for Spanish since 2011.

Although not covered under Section 203, 

the elections department in Minneapolis, 

MN, provides language assistance and 

resources to a diverse population of 

voters with language needs. Knowing 

that language groups can change from 

year to year, the elections department 

uses alternative data sources—such as 

school district data and annual precinct 

visits—to stay educated on language 

needs and to ensure resources are 

distributed effectively. According to the 

department, this proactive approach has 

led to greater trust and buy-in from the 

language minority communities, which 

eases translation needs and poll worker 

recruitment efforts.
U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION • LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY 4 

CLEARINGHOUSE BRIEF

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT

Engage your language minority communities regularly throughout

the language assistance process.

1 Early on, c onduct outreach to gauge the level of assistance yourlanguage groups need and to better understand the specific 

challenges they face.

2 Throughout the development of language assistance processes

3 Even after language assistance processes and resources have

4 Seek opportunities to be physically present and visible in areas with large concentrations of language

PUBLIC INFORMATION AND VOTER AWARENESS

Take steps to raise awareness among language minority communities

of the availability of materials and assistance. Instead of having 

voters seek out resources on their own, foster increased awareness 

by promoting available assistance and resources online and through 

the media, as well as prominently displaying these resources at 

polling sites. 

 Make announcements over the language community’s radio or 

 Publicize notices in language community newspapers.

 Partner with community organizations to conduct voter outreach

Establishing working relationships with your language minority communities 

through active engagement and outreach can help your elections department

develop its language program and ease the implementation process. 

Engaging Your Language Communities

A mobile-friendly, 

multilingual website 

that allows visitors to easily 

select between languages 

and keeps features 

consistent across languages 

can also strengthen accessibility

of relevant materials to 

language communities.

TIP

An outreach coordinator 

can monitor language access 

efforts and needs within the 

community, and serve as 

the point of contact within 

the elections department 

for language communities. 

Additionally, establishing a 

formal language advisory 

group can create a platform 

for regular engagement with 

language communities.

TIP

UNDERSTANDING YOUR LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES

Demographic data—including Census data as well as state and local data sources—can be a good starting 

point for understanding your language communities. Tapping into this type of data can help your elections 

department better understand the geography of your language groups and detect shifts in language 

needs over time.
U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION • LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY 5 

CLEARINGHOUSE BRIEF

Translating Materials

TRANSLATION

The accurate and timely translation of voting materials is crucial 

to assisting language communities.

Translation of election materials involves three basic steps:

 Finalizing the English-language version;

 Translating the English version into another language; and

 Reviewing and verifying the accuracy of the translations.

PLAN AHEAD

The translation of resources requires additional time and resources. 

Planning ahead can mitigate last-minute deadlines and budget issues.

Plain language:

Written translations should try to use plain language, as many 

language groups also include many low-literacy voters. Developing

the English version of materials in plain language first will help 

ensure that the translated version will also be in plain language.

Election glossaries: 

A glossary of translated key election terms can help election offices 

standardize translations across written materials. Glossaries can 

also prove helpful to poll workers and others who provide oral 

language assistance.

The EAC and many election offices have created glossaries in several

languages, which can serve as a helpful starting point.

 Turn to existing resources first.

Other departments, such as social services

agencies, likely already provide assistance

to language groups and may have existing resources

or guidance for you to use. Similarly, election offices

in other jurisdictions have existing templates,

processes, and resources that you may be able

to leverage—some examples are available in the

resources index.

 Consider linguistic nuances.

Two key skill sets are needed 

to assist with translation 

activities: 

» Plain language expertise to

support editing Englishlanguage materials for LEP

voters before translation.

» Linguistic and cultural expertise

to support the review of

translations for accuracy and

dialectical nuances.

NOTE: Human translation is 

of much higher quality than 

electronic translation software.

TIP

KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR TRANSLATING VOTING MATERIALS

Consider that some 

languages are not written, 

requiring other forms of 

language assistance.

Informed by engagement with your jurisdiction’s language communities, accurate 

translation of written election materials—including paper and electronic ballots, 

voter registration forms, and mail ballot envelopes—is an essential component of

effective language assistance.
U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION • LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY 6 

CLEARINGHOUSE BRIEF

Providing Assistance During the Voting Process

Establish your polling sites and voting 

processes with the needs of your language

communities in mind. 

Language assistance that supports voting can be

provided in written and oral forms, including:

 Multilingual signage at the polls, election offices,

registration locations, and other sites that indicate

language assistance is available.

 Translated ballots and voting materials, both

 Interactions with bilingual poll workers.

 Telephone help lines.

KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR 

POLL WORKER RECRUITMENT 

AND TRAINING

 Actively engage your language communities. 

 Prioritize recruitment of bilingual poll workers. 

 Conduct quality control of bilingual poll workers.

 Incorporate cultural sensitivity training into the 

PERSONAL ASSISTANCE

Some voters with language needs may not be 

comfortable interacting with poll workers with 

whom they are not familiar. In such cases, language 

minority voters should be allowed to bring an 

assistant of their choice into polling places, in 

accordance with VRA Section 208. 

VOTING SYSTEMS AND 

LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY

Different types of voting systems come with 

challenges to ensuring language accessibility.

Paper Ballots

Paper ballots can be monolingual, bilingual, or 

multilingual. Consider the number of languages 

supported in a jurisdiction and the usability of 

the ballot. 

Digital Balloting Systems

Digital balloting systems (e.g., with a touchscreen 

interface) can offer a clear language selection to voters 

on the opening screen and a toggling function 

within the system for voters to switch from one 

language to another (instead of a bilingual display). 

Vote-by-mail

Mail voters do not have the opportunity to ask poll 

workers for clarification, so their voting packets 

need to include all of the necessary instructions 

and materials in a concise, organized design. A 

clearly indicated help line phone number with 

language assistance can also be useful. 

Bilingual poll workers can wear large 

name tags or colorful badges that read 

"I Speak ____" in the translated language to 

easily identify themselves as assistants to 

language group members.

TIP

Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may 

also face participation challenges and can 

benefit from sign language interpretation or

other forms of voting assistance.
U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION • LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY 7 

CLEARINGHOUSE BRIEF

Resource Index

The resources in this index provide additional details and practical examples of the topics

covered in this document. Click the title of the resource to read more.

GENERAL INFORMATION ON LANGUAGE ACCESS

Language Access: The EAC website includes a page that compiles resources related to language 

accessibility. This includes translated election terminology glossaries and links to resources from federal, 

state, and local governments. The page also includes videos and presentations from EAC events on 

language access, including its 2016, 2017, and 2018 Language Access for Voters Summits. 

Bilingual Voting Assistance: Selected Jurisdictions’ Strategies for Identifying Needs and 

Providing Assistance: The U.S. Government Accountability Office produced a report in 2008 evaluating 

services provided to language minority voters. 

LEGAL CONTEXT: 

REQUIREMENTS, COVERAGE, AND IMPLEMENTATION

About Language Minority Voting Rights: The DOJ website has a concise discussion of VRA language minority 

rights provisions and the requirements that covered jurisdictions must meet. 

The Census Bureau & Section 203 Determinations: A 2017 presentation by the U.S. Census Bureau that 

highlights how language minority designations are determined and how coverage has changed over time. 

2016 Determinations in the Federal Register: The official listing of all jurisdictions covered under Section 

203 in the most recent round of determinations in December 2016. 

Census Bureau Voting Rights Determination File: Files and datasets from the U.S. Census Bureau relevant to 

the Section 203 Determination Process in 2016, 2011, and 2002. 

Language Challenges and Voting: Prepared for the Presidential Commission on Election Administration 

in 2013, this document provides an overview of some of the legal and administrative issues associated with 

voting by language minorities. 

RESOURCES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Guidelines on the Implementation of the Provisions of the Voting Rights Act Regarding Language Minority Groups: 

DOJ guidance regarding how to implement VRA language minority provisions.

Voting Section Litigation: The DOJ website lists dozens of cases raising claims under VRA language 

minority provisions. Common reasons for DOJ enforcement actions include jurisdictions that did not provide 

critical election-related information in a covered language and failed to provide an adequate number of bilingual 

poll officials who were trained to assist voters. 

About Federal Observers and Election Monitoring: The DOJ website provides information on federal 

observers and election monitoring, including its historical and legal background.
U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION • LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY 8 

CLEARINGHOUSE BRIEF

Resource Index continued

DESIGNING AND TRANSLATING VOTING MATERIALS

Effective Designs for the Administration of Federal Elections: This 2007 EAC report provides planning

processes, evidence-based recommendations, and examples of voting materials created for language groups.

Glossaries of Election Terminology: The EAC provides glossaries of 1,834 elections-related terms and 

phrases that were translated and reviewed by multidialectal teams. Glossaries are currently available in

Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Election Phrases at a Glance: The EAC created a series of phrase books containing phrases commonly 

used in elections administration and assistance. Glossaries are currently available in Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, 

Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

VOTING SYSTEMS AND LANGUAGE ACCESS

Designing Election Systems For Language Access: With support from the National Institute of Standards and

Technology, the Center for Civic Design produced a white paper in 2017 that detailed the challenges associated

with developing language-accessible election systems. The paper discusses topics such as the legal context of

language assistance, the implementation of language assistance programs, and voting system design.

EXAMPLES OF STATE RESOURCES

Bilingual Requirements and Best Practices in Florida: The Florida Department of Elections provides a slide

deck from 2015 that expands on using data to examine your voter populations and processes for providing

language assistance to voters. 

Language Access Toolkit: The Maryland State Government offers a toolkit of practical strategies and 

examples for developing language access within agencies and jurisdictions that serve LEP residents. 

OTHER EAC LANGUAGE RESOURCES

National Mail Voter Registration Form: The EAC offers the National Mail Voter Registration Form in Arabic, 

Bengali, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Khmer, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, 

Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Voter's Guide to Federal Elections: The EAC offers a voter's guide in Cherokee, Chinese, Dakota, English, 

Japanese, Korean, Navajo, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Yupik.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is an independent, bipartisan commission established by the 

Help American Vote Act of 2002. A primary role of EAC is to serve as a national clearinghouse for 

information on election administration.