MANCHESTER, NH – On Wednesday, the Manchester Mayor’s Multicultural Advisory Council sent a letter to New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner expressing concern that some members of the community, particularly immigrant citizens, are “getting left out or excluded from full participation in civic life, for various reasons.”
In particular, the Council asked the Secretary of State’s office to produce written materials in languages other than English to explain how people can register to vote and then vote from home.
“Providing translated voting materials in different languages will ensure the election process is more inclusive and accessible to more Manchester citizens,” said Council Chair Arnold Mikolo.
They suggested languages such as Nepali, French, Swahili, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese and Bosnian.
While naturalized citizens for whom English is a second language do pass an oral English test to obtain their citizenship, Council member Sue Corby pointed out Friday, that is usually possible with rudimentary conversational English and not literacy or a grasp of the more complex words used to describe the minutiae of election rules.
“The level or reading that’s required for citizenship, I wouldn’t call that so advanced,” Corby said.
Corby said some of the written materials the Secretary of State has put out in English is already complex, even for educated native speakers.
“People whose native language is not English are going to feel insecure about it,” she said.
The need for these materials is especially pressing this year, Corby said, because of the pandemic and an increased interest in voting by absentee ballot. She said she knows a lot of older immigrants who don’t want to risk going out in public.
“These circumstances this year are different and they’re complicated,” Corby said.
Corby and Mikolo co-chaired the Council’s civic engagement subcommittee, which identified the issues in the letter.
The other thing the Council requested was permission to place drop boxes for absentee ballots either at City Hall after hours or at polling places during Election Day, so that folks who might not trust the mail or be discouraged to vote remotely can confidently vote in a manner that feels safe.
“Many immigrants, as well as native born, have heard people say that mail delivery by USPS will be delayed this year,” the letter states. “Whether or not this is accurate remains to be seen. However, this perception will likely mean that people who need time to learn and understand the candidates’ positions, will think they are too late and thus decide not to vote at all.”
Manchester Ink Link has reached out to the Secretary of State’s office for comment.