More Erie Co ballots must offer Spanish

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Some local polling places will be undergoing a dramatic change this election year. The Erie County Board of Elections has begun printing more bilingual ballots.

The Erie County Board of Elections was recently notified by the State Attorney General's Office that 100 more voting districts in Erie County will have to have available Spanish voting ballots and interpreters on site, because the number of local voting districts with at least five percent Hispanic voters has quadrupled since the last Census.

Elections Commissioner Dennis Ward said, "First of all, it's the law and we follow the law. I think the biggest challenge for us is finding Spanish speaking elections inspectors. We're continually trying to recruit them."

Ward says the Spanish option has been offered for decades in some districts on Buffalo's west side, where Pedro Carrion came to live 22 years ago. Carrion believes many in the Hispanic population don't vote because of the language barrier and thinks this move will help.

"They don't know the language; they don't know what to do," he said.

This coming election day, 16 percent of Erie County's voting districts will have to offer the Spanish option, including for the first time a few suburban districts. At St. Aloysius in Cheektowaga, for example, they will have to have Spanish ballots and an interpreter available on voting day.

But not everyone like it.

Bob Smith said, "Too much government. I hope they're not paying for it with my tax money. You know people should be able to speak English before they vote."

Amherst voter Ryan agreed with Smith, saying, "You were just as likely to encounter a German speaking person in Buffalo 100 years ago as an English one. Why should it be any different today with Hispanic voters?"

Ward says there will not be a very big cost involved in printing extra Spanish ballots, or in adapting the Board of Elections website to offer a Spanish language option for first time this fall as well.

The Chautauqua County Board of Elections was similarly told by the Attorney General's Office they need to make more Spanish-speaking ballots available.