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By Al-Sharif Nassef
This month, the Pennsylvania Department of State announced that key voting documents, including voter registration forms and vote-by-mail applications, will be available in nine additional languages. This goes well beyond the current requirement of voting materials availability in three languages in the Commonwealth, as mandated by the historic Voting Rights Act.
This step from the Pennsylvania Department of State potentially enfranchises up to 251,701 eligible Pennsylvania voters who are limited in English proficiency (according to the US Census). It expands access to a lifetime of political engagement for New Americans. County election officials now have new tools to better enable them to uphold the fundamental right for all Americans, and counties should be proactive in making these materials available for the voters in their area.
In August of this year, a diverse coalition of over 65 organizations from across Pennsylvania joined advocacy efforts to empower marginalized New Americans at the ballot box by calling for these resources from the state. As the fastest-growing voter population in Pennsylvania, New Americans are pivotal voices in shaping the 2024 election and beyond. With ballot access forms available in Nepali, Korean, Arabic, Bengali, Italian, Russian, Gujarati, French, and Cambodian/Khmer, we see New American communities welcomed into the fabric of our democracy, as they always should be.