Delivering Political Power to Language Minorities: Voting, Elections, and the Rights of Language Minorities

Abstract

With the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its amendments, language minority voters have been granted greater access to the polls than ever before. However, the 2000 election illustrated how these rights can easily be violated. In this article, I examine how election administrators and nonprofits can work together to improve services to language minority voters. Using examples from Arlington, Virginia, and Los Angeles, California, I show how these efforts can improve the services provided to voters and make service delivery easier for election administrators while also strengthening the nonprofits that provide election-related services to these populations.

Notes

^aThis information came from interviews with representatives from the Los Angeles Chapter of the Korean American Coalition, June 8, 2002.

^bInterview with Linda Lindberg, January 16, 2003.