This op-ed was prompted by the front page article in January 15’s The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. First, to vote, one must be a United States citizen.
For anyone not born in the United States, to become a citizen, he or she must fill out the “Naturalization and Eligibility Worksheet” that contains these Statements: “1. I am at least 18 years old,” and “7. I can read, write and speak basic English.” “True or Not True”.
If you answer ‘Not True’ to either of these, “you are not eligible to apply for naturalization” unless you satisfy one of the following exceptions: “I am over 50 years old and have lived in the United States for at least 20 years since I became a Permanent Resident, or I am over 55 years old and have lived in the United States for at least 15 years since I became a Permanent Resident, or I have a disability that prevents me from fulfilling this requirement and will be filing a “Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions” (Form N-648) completed and signed by a doctor with my application.”
If none of these apply, you cannot become a naturalized citizen if you answer “Not True” to the statement “I can read, write and speak basic English” and/or “I am at least 18 years old.”
Certainly the woman pictured receiving her certificate declaring her a United States citizen during a recent naturalization ceremony in Atlanta is not in the latter categories and, therefore, for her to have received a Naturalization Certificate, she must have answered “True” to the statement “I can read, write and speak basic English.” That is one of the most basic requirements in becoming a U.S. citizen.
Additionally, naturalized citizens had to answer “True” to each of the following requirements:
“8. I know the fundamentals of U.S. history and the form and principles of the U.S. government.
“14. I will support the Constitution of the United States.
“15. I understand and am willing to take an oath of allegiance to the United States.”
In addition to the requirements mentioned above, there are age and residency requirements to become a citizen and it is hard to believe that anyone meeting all these requirements is not fluent enough in the English language to allow them to vote responsibly with a ballot written in English.
The United States has become what it is by the assimilation of its immigrants (English, Spanish, French, Chinese. Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Japanese, Polish, Arabic, and many others). A key part of that assimilation has been learning a common language — English. Anything else becomes a house divided and a house divided will not stand.
In summary, you cannot vote unless you are a citizen. You cannot become a citizen if, with few exceptions, you cannot read, write and speak basic English. This basic requirement negates the need for ballots in any language but English. Any other argument to print ballots other than in English is an excuse for anarchy.
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