Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, for the Other Paper
For the first time ever, South Burlington voters will have access to foreign language ballots when voting on Town Meeting Day.
Ballots in Arabic, French, Nepali, Somali, Spanish and Swahili will be posted at polling places, the city’s clerk’s office and online for voters whose first language is not English. The official ballots will be in English, but voters will be able to refer to the translated ballots and can even take photos of them to bring into the booth.
The languages were chosen in consultation with the South Burlington School District and public library, which have published various materials in those languages for community members.
Current city clerk Holly Rees worked with her team to make the project happen. Rees, who switched from her previous role as the city’s Parks and Recreation director to city clerk in 2023, explained that translating ballots is a key way to make all residents feel included.
“A primary goal was encouraging democracy and encouraging everybody that lives in our community to participate,” Rees said. “We want to be inclusive, and we want to remove barriers, and one of those barriers is language.”
U.S. Census data show that 15.7% of South Burlington residents speak a language other than English at home, compared to 5.8% of Vermonters. In the 2023-2024 school year, about 7 percent of South Burlington students were enrolled in the district’s Multilingual Learners Program, representing over 40 languages, according to the program’s website.
The ballots were translated by Atlanta-based BIG Language Solutions, which works with a range of different clients to provide accurately translated materials.
In addition to the ballots, city officials will be deploying iPads with translation software to all five polling locations. The program, Propio ONE, can provide on-demand interpretations, including in American Sign Language, Rees said.
Other cities in Vermont, such as Burlington and Winooski, offer free interpreters at polling locations on election days. The communities, along with Montpelier, also allow all legal noncitizen residents to vote in local elections. Last spring, a South Burlington committee recommended against moving forward with such an effort, citing fears that it would invite retaliation from federal immigration officials.
As for the ballots, Rees said the city may consider adding more languages in the future. Rees says that the sample ballots are a first step in making sure that voting is accessible. The future of foreign language ballots depends on the community’s feedback after this election, she said.
“If there are additional languages that we need to incorporate, we certainly would hope to hear from the public as well,” Rees said.