Gwinnett Must Offer Ballots In Spanish, Feds Say

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — Gwinnett County is expected to begin offering Spanish-languange ballots after a new designation from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Under the U.S. Voting Rights Act, jurisdictions are required to offer access to ballots in languages other than English if more than 5 percent of the voting-age population — or 10,000 citizens — are of a single language minority and have difficulty speaking English.

Gwinnett, Georgia's second-largest county, is home to more than 170,000 people of Latino descent, according to the most recent census estimates.

Gwinnett was the only Georgia jurisdiction on a list of covered areas released by the federal government on Monday.

"GALEO is very glad about the designation by the U.S. Census Bureau and the requirement to provide much needed Spanish language assistance to Latino voters in Gwinnett County," Jerry Gonzalez, director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, said in a news release.

"Voting is an important right we have as U.S. citizens, regardless of English language proficiency. As we had mentioned over one year ago, the need for Spanish language assistance and information is certainly a reality."

Gonzalez said his group will monitor to ensure the county is compliant with the designation and that Spanish-speaking voters have all the materials they need during upcoming votes. He predicted other Georgia jurisdictions may follow Gwinnett onto the list.

"Gwinnett County can be a model for other counties to follow their lead on providing Spanish language materials for voting," he said.

A growing number of Latino voters was one of the factors cited after Gwinnett County — traditionally a Republican stronghold — favored Democrat Hillary Clinton in the recent presidential election.