Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is appealing a judge’s decision that cleared the way for election officials to offer non-English voting materials to the public.



Under Polk County District Court Judge Scott Rosenberg's June 29^th ruling, Iowa counties are allowed, at their discretion, to provide citizens with non-English ballots, voter-registration forms and absentee ballot applications. The decision dissolved a 15-year-old injunction that had blocked the practice since 2008. Former Iowa Congressman Steve King filed a lawsuit in 2008 against the Iowa Secretary of State barring voter registration forms in any language other than English.

The court’s ruling grew out of a lawsuit filed on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa. The lawsuit challenged the state’s application of the English Language Reaffirmation Act to election materials. The act requires that all political documents from the state “shall be in the English language” unless the materials are deemed “​​necessary to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.” LULAC argued, and a district court judge agreed, that voting is a constitutional right. People have a constitutional right to vote and language should not be a barrier to voting.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned the use of any “test or device” to deny individuals the right to vote, including any requirement that a potential voter “demonstrate the ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter.”

Our elections work best when eligible voters are able to receive honest and truthful election information in a language they understand. Attorney General Brenna Bird needs to stop being a barrier to election access and do the right thing and drop her appeal. Give all Iowans the Constitutional Right to participate freely in our voting process.

Mitch Henry

Chair, Iowa Unity Coalition