The Secretary of State’s Office has historically faced criticism from activists for lack of information about voter registration in languages other than English.
The New Hampshire Secretary of State’s Office is looking to expand voting access to people who use English as a second language for the 2024 elections.
The state provided information on registering to vote in three languages in last year’s elections: Spanish, French and Mandarin. But speaking Thursday with members of Welcoming NH, a coalition of groups that assist with immigrant resettlement and welcoming new residents to the state, Secretary of State David Scanlan said he’s hoping to go beyond that next year.
“Hopefully, we will at least double the number of languages,” Scanlan said. “We haven't decided which ones we're going to do yet.”
Scanlan pointed to the Secretary of State’s office distributing their voter information guide for new Americans as part of voter outreach. That guide is only available in English.
At the meeting, activists and community organizers suggested a number of ways to further expand voting accessibility, including translating the voter guide and making it available at polling places across the state. The Secretary of State's office said in an email that they were planning on translating the material to other languages.
Scanlan said his office hopes to have voter registration information in more languages available before the beginning of December. In the meeting, Scanlan sought feedback on which languages to add.
