Spanish-speaking voters won’t have to struggle to read the ballot this November.
Thanks to a ruling by a federal judge, 32 counties in Florida, including Alachua County, will be required to provide residents with sample ballots in Spanish, said TJ Pyche, director of outreach for Alachua County Supervisor of Elections. The county is working to make the ballot available on Friday.
“I think that this will give them the opportunity to read the ballot in their native language and make their decisions accordingly,” he said.
The change comes after the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections, Kim Barton, was sued in a class-action lawsuit for violating the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in voting, Pyche said.
There isn’t an accurate estimate yet for how much the new sample ballots will cost because it depends on printing expenditures, he said.
For Marcie Stefan, the vice president of the Alachua County Hispanic Caucus, the new sample ballot means she won’t have to translate the amendments for her parents from Puerto Rico.
“It does affect people, because you can’t really understand what you’re voting for,” she said.
Stefan thinks the new sample ballots will improve voter turnout in future elections.
“It’s going to be much more comfortable voting when you understand what you’re voting for,” she said.
