I live in Coral Gables, a suburb of Miami, and every single piece of political mail that I get is in spanish. Last year I got stuff with 1 side in english, and 1 in spanish, but now its all spanish. I have no idea what these things are saying, and feel like I'm living in another country. I know that as a white english speaking male I'm a minority here, and I thought the voting rights act required a translation in the minority language (english) of campaign material if more than a certain % speaks the language. Its really strange to have a primary going on and not being able to read the material because its not even provided in english.
2006-09-02 12:26:30 · 5 answers · asked by Tommy 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Civic Participation
The law provides that election materials (e.g., ballots) must be in English (with other languages provided as States deem fit). Campaign materials, however, may be printed in any language or languages that the author wishes. Because it is their material, not the State's, they have a clear First Amendment right to speak as they wish, and that includes their choice of language. Of course, by ignoring you and your language, they seem to indicate that they do not value your vote very highly, which you have every right to hold against them on Election Day.
2006-09-02 14:03:31 · answer #1 · answered by BoredBookworm 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They should be provided in English because afterall that's supposedly the language that everyone speaks here,but unfortunately like most businesses the person running in the campaign is trying to tap into a certain number of votes it wouldn't other wise receive wich is the latino vote.so hence why they write their slogans in spanish,try to know learn a little spanish to make speeches in and why they pass out political mail in spanish.Afterall isn't that how bush won?Its all about winning for them,however they can get it.
2006-09-03 04:12:00 · answer #2 · answered by Nexus K 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps you should call the secretary of states office and make a formal complaint. There are laws dealing with this and of course any campaign literature you get that is in only Spanish is violating the law. English is the majority language in this country. You might also want to drop a note to the various campaigns and tell them you will not be voting for their candidate because you could not understand one word of their literature. They will open the letter as they will expect it to contain cash.
2006-09-02 15:24:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps you should seek out material in English - it sounds like you are just waiting for it to come in the mail. It may be inconvenient for you, but I'm sure it's inconvenient for Spanish speaking people in predominantly Caucasian areas too.
2006-09-02 12:47:58 · answer #4 · answered by maguire1202 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Maybe you should learn Spanish.
2006-09-02 12:30:33 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋