Multilingual Services Program
Multilingual Services Program Background
In 2006, federal legislation passed, extending the minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965. Any county with more than 10,000 residents whose native language is not English and who indicated on their U.S. Census form a lack of proficiency in English, is required to provide election materials in the identified languages. A language is considered to be covered by the VRA as mandatory for the County's translated election materials if (1) more than 5% of the citizens of voting age are members of a single language minority and are limited English proficient OR (2) more than 10,000 of the citizens of voting age are members of a single language minority and are limited English proficient.
We Are Here to Help!
Mandated Languages
Los Angeles County is currently required to provide the following language assistance to VRA voters in addition to English:
•Armenian
•Chinese
•Cambodian/Khmer
•Farsi
•Korean
•Spanish
•Tagalog/Filipino
•Vietnamese
•Hindi
•Japanese
•Thai
•Russian
•Bengali*
•Burmese*
•Gujarati*
•Indonesian*
•Mongolian*
•Telugu*
*Some services may not be available for certain languages*
Services
The Los Angeles County Multilingual Voter Services program was established to provide services to voters who need language assistance. As we continue to improve the program with new trends to better serve voters with limited English proficiency, the following services are provided:
- Translated Election Materials
Improved Vote by Mail (VBM) ballot is now available in 18 languages. E-Sample ballot and Interactive Sample ballot are also available in 18 languages. Translated sample ballot will be mailed to voters upon request of a certain language. A sample ballot booklet contains a list of candidates, candidate information and measures, vote center locations nearby, how to request a vote-by-mail ballot, and a postcard with instructions on how to use voting devices.
- Bilingual Assistance at Vote Centers
Voters with limited English Proficiency can receive assistance in their language, on Election Day, at most Vote centers throughout the County. Voters can access 18 languages on the ballot marking device, including audio ballot can be accessed on any of these languages.
- Bilingual Assistance Hotline: 1-800-815-2666, option 3
Voters may call a toll free number to request that translated election materials are mailed to them every election. They can also receive information about or request vote center locations, bilingual voter registration cards, translated vote-by-mail application and sample ballot booklets.