English only in Arizona?
Now, I'm not expert, but if I was to think of a way to move Hispanic voters in Arizona and maybe the broader Southwest away from a particular conservative party, I would sponsor an official English ballot initiative.
The Arizona house voted earlier this week voted to approve an English as an official language initiative. If approved by the Senate, it would then go to the voters in November. Because it is a popular initiative, not a bill, it cannot be vetoed by Gov. Janet Napolitano. A similar initiative passed in the late 80s, but was found unconstitutional on free speech grounds.
Republicans argue that this particular bill is less ham-handed than earlier efforts:
"Official English doesn't mean English-only," Pearce said, noting that the referendum includes exemptions.Under the measure, documents necessary for international trade, for tourism and to protect the public's health and safety would not be affected.
Spanish-language documents printed by prison and health officials - including information on immunizations, childhood lead-poisoning prevention, sexually transmitted diseases and prison-orientation handbooks and sanitation signs - could be exempted.
It would not affect people conducting private business.
It does require that election ballots be printed only in English. Democrats challenged the constitutionality of such an amendment, arguing that printing ballots only in English violates the requirements of the federal Voting Rights Act. Pearce has rejected that notion.
The nuances are not the point though. Official English means Spanish sucks. You can make the initiative as elegant, nuanced and fair as possible, but when you get down to it, choosing one language over another makes a value judgment about both, that one is better.
Emmett O'Connell | March 30, 2005 | Comment on This Post (2 so far) |
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I wouldn't count on it moving loads of Latinos into the Democratic camp. There was another initiative on the ballot last year that denied social services for undocumented workers and complicated election rights for the rest of us. There were blatant racist connections with backers of the measure, and Democrats widely saw it as an organizing tool. Some folks initially mused how it would finally tip the balance of power in the state.
A funny thing happened, though. It passed, by a healthy margin. And guess what? Almost 2/3rds of Latinos supported the measure.
Posted by: Scott | Apr 5, 2005 12:12:05 AM
If citizenship requires the ability to speak and write English, then why the reluctance to have English only ballots? If someone doesn't speak and read English they are unable to partake of the general discourse and so are uninformed. I see no need for more ignorant people voting.
Furthermore, those who cannot communicate in English are more likely to be dupes for those who tell them how to vote because they can't check information or hear dissenting points of view. The Catholic Church is a fine one for manipulating Spanish-speakers to their way of thinking and directing the vote of non-English speakers.
Posted by: Jacqueline O'Connor | Jun 20, 2006 10:12:35 PM
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(and yes, we know that sometimes they're very, very wrong. Other times, they're right on.)
