Hispanic voters want Election Day problems resolved
Wednesday, November 17, 2004 at 06:28PM
TheSpook
Spanish-speaking residents say they encountered a number of
problems on Election Day - some that prevented votes from being cast. A
lack of Spanish-speaking poll workers, no Spanish ballots and names
missing from voter lists were among the complaints in Cuyahoga County.
Cleveland City Councilman Nelson Cintron Jr., who was born in Puerto
Rico, intends to meet with county elections director Michael Vu to
discuss the problems. "We need more Hispanics at the polling
locations," Cintron said. "And not only Hispanics. If we look around
the entire city and all of Cuyahoga County there are different cultures
coming into our area who need help." Vu said he wants to work with
Hispanic and other groups to make voting accessible to as many people
as possible. "I definitely understand it," Vu said. "My parents have
the same issues. They're first generation and English is their second
language." Vu's parents immigrated to the United States from Vietnam.
Hiring poll workers who speak other languages, he said, is a priority.
More sophisticated voting machines, which the state will switch to in
coming years, should make it easier and less expensive to provide
ballots in a number of languages. [more]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.