The Battle Over "Bilingual Ballots" Shifts To The Courts: A Post-Boerne Assessment Of Section 203 Of The Voting Rights Act

Can Congress prohibit a state or local jurisdiction from conducting elections in English only and require that it provide "bilingual ballots" at the polls? Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act requires certain jurisdictions-those meeting specified demographic criteria-to provide language assistance to voters who have limited English language abilities. Section 203 only covers four language groups: Alaskan Natives, American Indians, Asians, and Hispanics. In the debates and legislative hearings leading up to reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act in 2006, critics of section 203 argued that it is unconstitutional because it violates principles of federalism and equal protection, among other reasons. This Article responds that Congress has broad power to regulate state or local election practices under the authority of the enforcement section of the Fifteenth Amendment. It analyzes how section 203 is limited in scope and duration by a statutory formula that uses Census data to determine which jurisdictions must provide language assistance. The Article also documents evidence of education discrimination against each of the four language groups in jurisdictions covered by section 203. The Article concludes that when the battle over the constitutionality of section 203 shifts to the courts, they should find that it is a congruent and proportional means to remedy the disenfranchisement resulting from a long history of education discrimination against language minorities. Adapted from the source document.