Language Assistance

Definition

The Voting Rights Act outlaws literacy- and language-based voting qualifications or prerequisites. Section 203 recognizes widespread voting discrimination against Alaskan Native, American Indian, Asian, and Hispanic language minority citizens and seeks to eliminate it by requiring the provision of minority language materials and assistance related to the electoral process—oral and/or written—to language minority groups. Other VRA sections, including 4(e) and 208, are also relevant to language access. The most recent reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act in 2006 extended Section 203 through 2032, and determinations were adjusted to occur every 5 years instead of 10.