ProEnglish Praises Congressman for Questioning Census Methodology for Determining Expensive Multilingual Election Materials

August 17, 2011
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Presented by ProEnglish

ARLINGTON, VA – “U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., is to be commended for asking tough questions in a letter to the U.S. Census Bureau regarding its determination of the number of limited English proficient voters which, if it stands, could triple the number of jurisdictions around the country mandated to spend scarce tax money on multilingual election materials,” says ProEnglish Executive Director K.C. McAlpin.

The August 10 Franks letter notes that the Voting Rights Act requires jurisdictions with a threshold number of “limited English proficient” voters to provide bilingual ballots. The Census Bureau— in consultation with the Justice Department— determines which jurisdictions meet the threshold. But Franks charges that “in making the tally, the Census Bureau has been including citizens who say they speak English “well” in the count of the “limited English proficient.”

“Congress should take this accusation seriously, since the Census Bureau’s methodology is not subject to court review. Congressional oversight over the Census Bureau is the only way to stop forcing cities and counties to needlessly spend money on multilingual election materials,” McAlpin says.

“Franks’ concern is also a huge boost for the English Language Unity Act, H.R. 997, a bill introduced by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, that would make English our official language of government. H.R. 997 has over 100 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and it would serve to eliminate the confusing, divisive and expensive multilingual ballot system,” McAlpin says.