Mar 28, 6:20 AM EST
By DAVID B. CARUSO
Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Among a growing list of places nationwide where Hispanic populations have surged in the past decade, Pennsylvania's Berks County is now required by law to hire Spanish-speaking poll workers and print ballots in Spanish.
The move was praised by bilingual activists and criticized by some in the county's English-speaking majority.
Around 300 municipalities were required by the federal government to use multilingual ballots during the November election, up from about 250 a decade earlier, according to the Justice Department.
Berks County, widely known for German folk art on its barns, and its seat, Reading, were added to the list March 18 when a federal judge ruled poll workers there had discriminated against Hispanics. The ruling upset some in the county's English-speaking majority.
"It's been a very emotional issue," said County Commissioner Tim Reiver. "An awful lot of people think this is a bad idea."
In Berks County, 12.7 percent of residents speak a language other than English
at home and 9.7 percent of residents are of Hispanic or Latino origin, according
to census data.
The county initially refused to provide bilingual aid, saying it would discourage immigrants from assimilating. It backed down after losing the first round of a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department.
County officials are still negotiating how they will comply with the judge's order. Reiver said the county will probably offer the bilingual ballots only in Reading, where 37 percent of the population is Hispanic.
"Everyone's not going to be pleased, but if you believe in fairness, and you believe in the constitutional right to vote, there is no question that (bilingual ballots) are a step in the right direction," said Valentin Rodriguez Jr., an activist in Reading who fought for bilingual assistance at the polls for years. "We have a large Hispanic population here, and they have been unable to exercise their right to vote."
Similar changes have taken place nationwide. The nation's Hispanic population rose by 58 percent in the 1990s, and counties from coast to coast learned in July they would be required to offer bilingual election materials under the federal Voting Rights Act.
Six counties in Kansas and two in Nebraska offered election ballots in Spanish for the first time in November. Three cities in Connecticut added bilingual ballots. Colorado adopted Spanish ballots in Denver. New Jersey added them in two counties.
The sudden changes have prompted a backlash in some areas. Election workers in Washington state said they were deluged with complaints from voters in four counties who were surprised to see ballots printed in Spanish and Chinese.
"Bilingual ballots are un-American," said Jim Lubinskas, spokesman for U.S. English Inc., a group that has lobbied to make English the official language of the United States.
"To become a (naturalized) citizen, you are required to speak English, so it would seem that to vote, you would need a workable knowledge of the English language as well."
Under the Voting Rights Act, foreign language ballots must be provided when either 10,000 people or 5 percent of the voting-age population in an area doesn't speak English well.
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On the Net:
Justice Department voting: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/index.htm