As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday, the Gwinnett Board of Registration and Elections rejected a call to provide Spanish-language ballots and voting materials.
Now U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, has weighed in with a statement opposing bilingual ballots in Gwinnett and Hall counties.
“Requirements such as those proposed would unnecessarily burden counties that are already facing budget constraints,” Collins said in a statement issued Wednesday. “There is no reason to create a new burden on counties with an initiative that will have little impact for its citizens. Unreasonable demands by activist groups do not establish justification to change policies, especially when American citizens already have the right to bring translators with them to polling places.”
Collins is a cosponsor of the English Language Unity Act, which would require that English be established as the official language of the United States.
Meanwhile, the executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials has pledged to take Gwinnett and Hall counties to court if they don't provide bilingual ballots. The group believes a provision of the Voting Rights Act designed to protect Puerto Ricans requires it.
Hall County already has rejected GALEO's request. You can read more about Gwinnett's decision here.
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