Citing Hurricane in Puerto Rico, Lawsuit Seeks Bilingual Ballots in 32 More Florida Counties

Voter advocacy groups aligned with Hispanics and Democrats filed a lawsuit Thursday calling on Gov. Rick Scott’s administration to order all ballots and election materials to be printed in English and Spanish in 32 counties in the November general election.

The action cites the arrival of Puerto Ricans in Florida after Hurricane Maria last fall, and estimates that more than 30,000 people are affected.

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“The counties’ first-generation Puerto Rican population has increased significantly in the wake of Hurricane Maria,” the lawsuit states. “Most of those newly-arrived residents were educated in Spanish-language schools in Puerto Rico and many are not proficient in English … (They) will not be able to vote effectively unless they have access to Spanish-language ballots, election materials and assistance.”

The lawsuit was filed by Faith in Florida, Hispanic Federation, Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, UnidosUS and Vamos4PR.

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Scott, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, has frequently highlighted his efforts to help Puerto Ricans who faced massive hurdles in recovering from the devastating storm of nearly a year ago.

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The legal action says that in April, the plaintiffs asked the 13 counties with the largest populations to voluntarily agree to provide bilingual voting materials, but that the counties declined the request in June.

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The federal government, under the Voting Rights Act, already requires 13 Florida counties to provide ballots and voting materials in English and Spanish because at least 5 percent of the voting age population speaks Spanish.

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