EAC Releases Spanish Language Glossary of Election Terms

[Harold F. Schiffman]

EAC Releases Spanish Language Glossary of Election Terms

By Election Assistance Commission
May 17, 2007

Glossary Translates Terms from English to Spanish, Spanish to English

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) today voted to adopt a
glossary that provides a translation of key election terms from English to
Spanish and from Spanish to English. The glossary is available for
download here and the EAC will distribute copies to jurisdictions
throughout the nation. "We had an obligation to update this helpful tool
for Spanish-speaking voters and the election officials who serve them, and
I am very pleased to announce we have gotten the job done," said EAC Chair
Donetta Davidson.  "Thank you to staff and everyone who helped us update
this glossary for the first time since 1979.

"But our work is not done -- next we will translate this glossary in other
languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Tagalog to
ensure that election officials have the tools they need to help all of
America's voters successfully cast their vote." The Glossary of Key
Election Terminology contains 1,843 terms and phrases used in the
administration of elections in the United States. To ensure the
translations were culturally and linguistically appropriate, terms were
translated and reviewed by a multi-dialect team of translators
representing four of the main regions of origin of the Hispanic population
living in the U.S. Those regions are Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and
Central America.

The update of the glossary is the first project released under EAC?s
Language Accessibility Program, which consists of working groups comprised
of local election officials, Congressional staff, national advocacy
groups, and research and public policy organizations to advise the
commission how to best meet language accessibility requirements. Future
activities include translating the glossary and the national voter
registration form in five Asian languages and the formation of working
groups to address the election needs of American Indians and Alaskan
natives. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) instructs EAC to study and
promote methods of ensuring the accessibility of voting, registration,
polling places, and voting equipment to all voters, including Native
American and Alaska Native citizens and voters with limited proficiency in
the English language. These provisions also charge EAC with examining the
technical feasibility of providing voting materials in eight or more
languages for voters who speak those languages and who have limited
English proficiency.

A Glossary of Common Spanish Election Terminology, the first version of a
national glossary of Spanish election terms, was published by the Federal
Election Commission (FEC) in 1979. The glossary was part of a three-volume
series providing guidance to election officials for identifying their
language minority populations, providing bilingual registration services,
and providing bilingual balloting services.

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2453&Itemid=26
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