For the past 18 months, the ACLU of Kansas and civic groups have urged Wyandotte County Election Commissioner Michael Abbott to provide voting materials in the county – one of the most diverse in the state – in Spanish.
This week they ran out of patience.
Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Tyrone Garner, ACLU of Kansas officials and other local leaders on Tuesday publicly called on Abbott and Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab to offer election literature in Spanish. The demand, made in a news conference, followed letters sent to Abbott over the past year and a half.
With less than a month before Election Day, the availability of Spanish-language election information may help shape voter participation in Wyandotte County, where more than a third of residents are Hispanic or Latino.
“We hear a lot today about election integrity,” said Micah Kubic , executive director of the ACLU of Kansas. “But election integrity is about more than just making sure that the votes are counted fairly and accurately. An election with integrity is one where every eligible citizen is able to participate on an equal footing, where everyone is represented and heard.”
Wyandotte County is home to 165,000 residents, roughly 29% of whom speak a language other than English in the household, according to U.S. Census data . Hispanic or Latino residents account for approximately 34% of the county’s population. Only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote.
The coalition’s three main requests are: Translate all locally produced and online materials into Spanish; put printed materials in voting sites that inform residents of language assistance rights; and make Spanish-language ballots and sample ballots available to in-person and early voters.
Kubic said the efforts have been met with concerns over potential litigation if the materials are expanded only to include Spanish and not other languages. He called those statements “a cheap and tawdry scare tactic.”
“There is less factual basis for those claims than there is for Sasquatch.”
Abbott was appointed to the role by Schwab, a Republican. Abbott on Tuesday referred questions from The Star to Schwab.
Despite its large share of Spanish speakers, Wyandotte County does not fall under the minimum threshold to trigger mandates for translated materials outlined under the federal Voting Rights Act, which establishes requirements based on an area’s statistical English proficiency. Some communities with high numbers of non-native English speakers voluntarily provide such services.
Schwab’s office said participation in Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act is determined every five years by the U.S. Census Bureau and sets requirements in counties where more than 5% of voting-age residents have limited English proficiency. His office noted six of Kansas’ 105 counties align with the federal requirement.
“We believe in following federal laws and guidelines,” Schwab said in a statement.
Some officials in Kansas counties covered by Section 203 have found the requirements useful.
Ford County, home to Dodge City, is one of those counties . Greta Clark, chair of the Ford County Democrats, said having election materials available in Spanish is helpful for voters locally.
Ford and other southwest Kansas counties have a large share of Hispanic residents. According to the 2020 Census, nearly 60% of Ford County residents are Hispanic or Latino.
Clark, who has taught U.S. citizenship preparation classes for close to 20 years, said becoming a naturalized citizen often requires learning a certain amount of English. Still, learning some English for the purposes of becoming a citizen doesn’t mean someone is literate, she noted.
“My personal perspective is that it is very helpful to have the Spanish language materials,” Clark said.
During Tuesday’s Wyandotte County press conference, advocates unfurled rolled up copies of a local petition calling for greater language access on the ballot. More than 1,000 residents have signed the petition, according to the ACLU.
Supporters said the measure would improve voter engagement with complicated policies, lead to greater overall turnout and offer a path for new U.S. citizens to exercise one of their most essential rights.
Karla Juarez, executive director of Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, or AIRR, became a citizen in 2020 and cast her first vote in Kansas. She said she and other naturalized citizens deserve greater language access on the ballot.
“I grew up in the United States. I was brought here as a young child. I consider myself fully English proficient, although it’s not my first language, but it’s still really hard,” Juarez said. “I still find myself finding the dictionary, asking my friends, what does the amendment language mean?”
Juarez is advocating for Spanish language access first with other languages to follow, noting the racial diversity of the county.
Erica Andrade , president of El Centro, Inc., a nonprofit that offers educational and social support to Kansas City area Hispanic and Latino residents, said language access “ is an essential right that all residents should have.”
“For U.S. citizens, the right to vote is not just one of our essential rights. It’s also one of our most important responsibilities,” Andrade said. “If you are not able to fully understand what a ballot is saying, it only damages that ability to exercise that right and responsibility, which we want for all of our residents.”
On Tuesday, Mayor Garner and At-Large Commissioner Melissa Bynum, 1st District, spoke in support of the effort.
Garner asked for the Unified Government Board of Commissioners to back a resolution he plans to present. In speaking to the issue, the mayor referenced the large Latino and Hispanic community members who call Wyandotte County home.
“There’s a lot of talk about voter fraud and things of that nature. But what we also need to focus on is voter disenfranchisement and how that impacts people,” the mayor said.
Garner, who is Black, also pointed to the 1965 civil rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, protesting racist Jim Crow policies and advocating for Black Americans’ access to the ballot.
“I wouldn’t be standing here today as your mayor without the hard fought battles of blood, sweat and tears that went into making sure that all people had the right to vote,” he said.
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