A federal judge has ordered Alaska election officials to go further in offering translation assistance to native-language voters in a ruling that one civil rights lawyer said on Tuesday may have implications for non-English speakers in other states.

The decision, issued on Monday, gives the state the six weeks that remain before the Nov. 4 elections to comply with a list of remedies designed to accommodate Yup’ik- and Giwch’in-speaking voters in several rural Alaska Native villages.

The eight-page order by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason essentially puts into effect a ruling from early September in which she declared that the Alaska Division of Elections had violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

It stems from a lawsuit claiming the state failed to provide voters of limited English proficiency with clear and accurate information explaining a ballot that will include races for governor, U.S. House of Representatives and Senate seats, and various initiatives.

Under Gleason’s order, the state must now provide oral and written translations of election materials; public service announcements alerting voters of available translation assistance; posters advertising such assistance; election worker training; translated copies of the official election pamphlet; and a comprehensive report on compliance no later than Nov. 28. More.

See: Reuters

Related Translation News articles:

• Alaska presents election translation plan
• Voting rights lawsuit says state ballot translations were wrong
• Alaska ballots fraught with issues for Yup’ik speakers

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