Lack of Language Services Keeps Too Many Eligible Immigrants From Voting

Why This Matters

California has the nation’s highest proportion of households (43%) who speak a language other than English at home. Approximately 3.2 million eligible California voters—one in eight voters—are limited-English proficient (LEP). These voters can face considerable challenges when it comes to participating in elections and community affairs.

Making voting easier and more accessible for all eligible voters is essential to a strong and thriving democracy. And yet too many eligible voters in California and nationwide face barriers to voting because they can’t find ballots and election information in the language they speak at home.

At a time when voting rights are under attack across the country and immigrants are being deliberately left out in U.S. democracy, it is more important than ever to ensure every eligible voter has a voice in elections—no matter the language they speak.

Even in states like California, voter registration, voter guides, and ballots are not translated in many languages even though there is a need. That means there are big language barriers to accessing the ballot and a lack of understanding of our electoral system. Combine all of that, and it keeps you on the outside of political and civic life.

Deanna Kitamura, Managing Attorney, Voting Rights, Asian Law Caucus

At Issue

Fifty years ago, a bipartisan majority in the U.S. Congress approved a law supporting language services for many voters with limited English. Known as Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, it was a major civil rights achievement that expanded access to voting for millions of Latino and Asian American immigrant voters living in the areas covered under the law.

But today, access to elections for immigrants and language minorities is under threat as leaders in the White House, Congress and state capitals push new “English-only” requirements and other measures aimed at intimidating people and suppressing their votes.

Adding to the problem, the federal law expanding language services doesn’t cover everyone who can benefit from these services. Depending on what language you speak, the county you live in, and the concentration of local residents speaking your preferred language, voters with limited English can have significantly different experiences and levels of support when they try to vote or find information about elections.

Without the full participation of California’s large multilingual electorate, our state cannot be a leader in the election sphere, and it cannot be said that California is a true, representative democracy.

Breaking Barriers to the Ballot Box: Expanding Language Access for California Voters, California Language Access Working Group, 2023

Investing in Solutions

For the Haas, Jr. Fund and our partners, improving language access is essential to the work of building an equitable, representative, and responsive democracy in California and showing the nation how lifting everybody’s voices makes us stronger. Here’s what we’re doing on this issue.

Awareness: Bringing Attention to the Importance of Language Access

We’re working to bring more attention to the history of language discrimination, the 50th anniversary of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, and the positive impact of language services on immigrant voter participation. This culminated in a language access summit in Sacramento on the anniversary of the passage of Section 203 in August 2025. This event brought together advocates, researchers, and policy makers from across the country for the first time to focus on this issue.

Advocacy: Making the Case for Expanded Language Access in California

In 2023, the California Language Access Workgroup—a statewide coalition of research and advocacy groups convened by the Haas, Jr. Fund—laid out a roadmap for improving language access for voters in the state. The plan they introduced would have marked the largest expansion of language services for voters in California since the enactment of Section 203.

For example, under the plan at least 28 counties would provide Spanish-language ballots for the first time, and 23 counties would provide Tagalog ballots for the first time. Other communities not covered under Section 203 would also receive language services for the first time, including Farsi, Arabic, and Somali speakers. That proposal was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom last year.

Now, Haas Jr. is supporting our partners as they move forward with research and convenings focused on refining their roadmap, building a stronger coalition, and ramping up their messaging and communications about the benefits of language services.

It’s more than just a ballot. It’s about dignity. It’s about freedom. The right to be heard in your own voice in private.

Rahmo Abdi, an organizer with Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA), reflecting on her experiences reaching out to Somali voters in California

Research: Assessing the Impact of Language Services

Despite the fact that limited-English voters are a significant part of our electorate, research on their needs and the quality, availability, and impact of language services has been sorely lacking. We are working with our partners on a number of research projects aimed at filling the gap. For example, a new report from the Asian Law Caucus examines the experience of voters with and without access in in-language materials.

Experimentation: Innovating to Improve Language Access

Another strategy we’re pursuing for expanding language access is supporting innovative experiments that can show promise for scaling across California and beyond. For example, we supported an experiment by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Civic Empowerment Education Fund (AAPI FORCE) to measure the impact of contacting likely Chinese-speaking voters in-language, versus in English. The results were highly encouraging. Another Haas Jr. grantee, Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA), led a successful effort to get the San Diego elections office to voluntarily add language services for voters in Somali. This expansion is a model for other counties to follow.

Looking Ahead

In the face of federal and state policies that are instilling fear in immigrant communities, the Haas, Jr. Fund and our partners remain committed to keeping a spotlight on this issue and showing how expanding language access is an important and necessary strategy for strengthening democracy in California and nationwide.

Every day in communities across our nation, immigrants are contributing to our economy, our culture, and our public life in immeasurable ways. Let’s do everything we can to make sure they can also contribute their voice—no matter what language they speak to help chart a brighter future for our nation.

Julián Castro, CEO of the Latino Community Foundation