Election help using YupÂ’ik language scrutinized (fwd link)

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Election help using Yup’ik language scrutinized

MARY LOCHNER
September 11, 2008 at 10:10AM AKST

The Tundra Drums
Alaska

The Alaska primary elections were watched for the outcome of contentious ballot
measures and the test of upstart candidates’ campaign mettle.

But the results of an untried system to help Yup’ik speakers vote, used for the
first time during the Aug. 26 primaries, are still coming in, and both sides in
a lawsuit over the issue are watching outcomes very closely.

“We’re in the process of gathering feedback from poll workers and voters,” said
Natalie Landreth, legal counsel for the Native American Rights Fund. “From what
we can tell, it’s been very uneven.”

The organization has teamed up with the American Civil Liberties Union in an
ongoing lawsuit representing Yup’ik-speaking voters who say the state and
Bethel governments have failed their obligations to minority language speakers
as required by the federal Voting Rights Act. A federal judge in the suit ruled
plaintiffs would suffer “immediate and irreparable injury” if not provided
assistance to fulfill their right to vote in primary elections, and ordered the
state on July 29 to remedy the situation in time for the primaries.

Access full article below:
http://thetundradrums.com/news/show/3207