Obama-Appointed Judge Orders All Florida Ballots to Also Be in Spanish by 2020

Chief Judge for the Northern District of Florida, Mark Eaton Walker, ordered 32 counties in Florida to also provide ballots in Spanish by the year 2020.

“Compliance with this Order is not optional,” the Obama appointee wrote in a Friday ruling.

Judge Walker noted that Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act “prohibits English-only elections for those citizens — yes, citizens — educated in Puerto Rico in Spanish.” (emphasis in original) Therefore, he ordered that the 32 counties in question must provide voters with ballots in Spanish starting with Florida’s primary election scheduled for March 17, 2020.

This order follows a previous injunction in the case, which stated the counties must provide sample ballots in Spanish for the November 2018 election. Walker’s latest order called for similar sample ballots should there be any election between now and the March 2020 primary.

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