Colorado’s Latino population has jumped significantly in the past decade, but more voting- age Latino adults are literate and speak English well enough that few need ballots printed in Spanish, according to the latest Census Bureau data.
In a determination that surprised county clerks and Secretary of State Scott Gessler, only three Colorado counties will be required under Voting Rights Act requirements to print ballots in Spanish as well as English. And all those already provide ballots in two languages.
Seven counties that previously had to provide dual-language ballots are no longer covered by the mandate. Thirteen counties that had anticipated a new dual-language order are off the hook.
Costilla, Denver and Rio Grande are the only counties where populations of Spanish speakers with limited English skills and above-average illiteracy rates were high enough to trigger the dual-language requirement under 2010 census figures.
Alamosa, Conejos, Crowley, La Plata, Montezuma, Otero and Saguache counties will no longer be required to provide ballots in languages other than English. In the case of La Plata and Montezuma counties, translators will no longer need to be available to help Ute and Navajo-speaking voters with languages that are not written.
“To say we are surprised is an understatement,” said Rich Coolidge, a spokesman for Gessler’s office.
Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com
