SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – South Dakota Voices for Peace is helping make voting easier for multilingual speakers by translating the state’s sample ballot into the four most common non-English languages in Sioux Falls.
The organization dedicated to immigration rights now has sample ballots available on their website in Spanish, Arabic, Nepali and Amharic– one of the languages of Ethiopia.
“If you read the ballot initiatives, the language is very confusing even to an English speaker,” Voices for Peace Executive Director Taneeza Islam said. “Translating it will hopefully help those who can comprehend better in their own language comprehend what is on the ballot.”
Federal law allows people to bring a sample ballot into the voting booth with them. Islam said that multilingual voters can print off the translated ballot, educate themselves on who they want to vote for in their native language, then fill out the official ballot at the voting booth or through absentee.
“I think it’s really important to also signal to our multilingual communities that we want them to be engaged,” Islam added. “That’s kind of the other side of the coin and why we do this work. When you engage communities in their language, they feel like they’re part of the process more.”
Selene Zamorano-Ochoa is the president and CEO of the South Dakota Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She works with Spanish speakers and Hispanic business owners and said the lack of resources around the election can deter people from voting.
“They’re able to watch ‘Univision,’ which is just generic, but has nothing to do with our own state because we don’t have that access to media in Spanish here in the state of South Dakota,” Zamorano-Ochoa said. “It does become a little difficult for them. Then they can get scared because they understand that it’s a very important decision that they must make.”
To translate the ballots, Islam enlisted the help of native speakers in the community. Tutush Dagnachew Woldemariam is a social worker and native Amharic speaker. She often translates documents for Voices for Peace. Woldemariam said the ballot was the biggest work she’s translated so far.
“For us whose original or native language is different than English and may not have knowledge of the English language, it makes it easier to understand what’s at stake, what is being said and what is being decided on,” Woldemariam said. “Having that ability to understand and be sure to make a decision based on being informed enough to make a confident decision.”
This is the second election Voices for Peace provided translated ballots to voters. This year, with financial help from the Community Catalyst Foundation, the organization is able to send out 25,000 Spanish sample ballots to Spanish speaking houses. Islam noted that most are being sent to houses in Minnehaha and Yankton County.
Voices for Peace chose the four languages— Spanish, Arabic, Nepali and Amharic– based on languages spoken in the Sioux Falls School District. According to a 2022 demographic report, 2,632 students spoke a language other than English. Spanish speaking students made up a majority of that number at 1,738. There were 196 Amharic speakers and 215 Nepali speakers when the report was made. Swahili and Kuanyama were also common languages.
