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Votebeat

How Arizona works to give Navajo voters a ballot they can listen to in their language

Votebeat
Summary
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86% Informative

Navajo voters who don’t speak English may get less information this election than voters who do.

Several of the proposals on the ballot are hotly contested, from abortion rights to open primary elections.

Federal law requires places around the country to translate election information into specific languages.

Navajo -speaking voters are a closely watched group.

Navajo -speaking voters “will not understand what they are voting for” if the translation is flawed, a Navajo official says.

Navajo culture traditionally does not approve of abortions, an expert says.

The Navajo translation is supposed to be used to train bilingual poll workers on the reservation.

An audio recording of the final translation is also available on the accessible voting device at each polling location.

Navajo Nation filed a lawsuit against the state and Apache , Coconino , and Navajo counties.

The counties and state settled the case, each signing separate agreements with the Navajo Nation .