A victory for voting rights has occurred in Puerto Rico. Chief Judge Fuste of the U.S. District Court in San Juan, Puerto Rico granted an injunction today requiring the Puerto Rico State Electoral Commission to print ballots and instructions in both English and Spanish for the upcoming November elections. http://www.topix.com/world/puerto-rico/2008/08/fust-ordena-impresi-n-papeleta-biling-e-5-27-p-m-agostos-de-2008-primera-hora-com

This case was brought by several long-time residents of Puerto Rico who are not fluent in Spanish. These individuals claimed that the decision of Puerto Rican electoral officials to use a ballot with instructions that are only in Spanish violates their constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, free speech and also infringes on their fundamental right to vote.  The latest census in 2000 by the U.S. Census Bureau found that 14.4% of the residents of Puerto Rico speak and understand only the English language.  http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-context=qt&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP17&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-CONTEXT=qt&-tree_id=403&-all_geo_types=N&-redoLog=true&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=04000US72&-search_results=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en

Although the plaintiffs in this case were active voters when they lived in the continental United States, they have been unable to exercise their right to vote in elections since moving to Puerto Rico. This is because the electoral ballots and instructions as to how votes are to be cast have traditionally been provided to voters in Puerto Rico only in the Spanish language.

With this court decision, registered voters in Puerto Rico who can't fully understand Spanish can now participate in elections and actually know who they are voting for and whether they are voting in the correct manner on the ballot. This is a big deal for the hundreds of thousands of people living in Puerto Rico who aren't fluent in Spanish. Although some people in Puerto Rico believe that people not fluent in Spanish should not be able to vote, I view the ruling that was issued today by Judge Fuste as a civil rights issue. This decision is about expanding voting rights and civil liberties for everyone in Puerto Rico so that more people can have their voices heard at the ballot box on issues that affect their everyday lives.