Translators help Korean American voters in Harris County (TX) find their electoral voice
Following a dust-up last year during which translators crossed the protected zone to approach voters waiting in line, Korean American civic groups and the Harris County Clerk’s Office began searching for a way to make translation services more easily available. The solution was found in an approach communities across the country have begun using to bridge language barriers and help fill gaps in federal voting rights law: putting volunteer translators on the county payroll. That way, if a voter doesn’t bring a translator to the ballot box, there’s someone inside the polling place who can help.
Next year’s elections are expected to drive large turnout, and the model could serve as an electoral blueprint for expanding language access in one of the country's most diverse counties.
“We wanted to come to something that would help the Korean group but others as well. Something that was scalable to any part of the county,” said Roxanne Werner, the county clerk’s director of community relations. “There’s no reason we can’t also hire poll workers who are bilingual in other languages or familiar with American Sign Language.”
Population growth has pushed Harris County across federal thresholds that require offering ballots and other election assistance in four languages: English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese.
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/11/26/how-korean-americans-lobbied-harris-county-bilingual-pollworkers/
