SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane County voter's pamphlet is available in Spanish after a local organization, Mujeres in Action (MiA), partnered with the Spokane County Elections Office to translate the material.
The Washington Secretary of State provides a Spanish version of the state voter’s pamphlet, but this is the first time the local pamphlet has been translated into Spanish.
“While these translated ballots and pamphlets are not official election materials, they are resources that will help local voters be more informed,” said Vicky Dalton, Spokane County Auditor. “Voters who are not proficient in English can be more comfortable and confident in casting their ballot.”
Sample ballots were also translated into nine languages (Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Arabic, Chinese, Swahili, Ukrainian, Dari and Kinyarwanda) by volunteers with the League of Women Voters.
The links to these materials are posted on the Spokane County Elections webpage under the "Current Elections" tab.
Because Spokane County is not mandated by Washington State or federal law to provide translated voting materials for local elections, the County Elections Office does not have the resources to create translations and instead relies on volunteers.
The League of Women Voters took on the challenge of creating translated ballots in the 2020 General Election and returned to create the translated sample ballots for the 2024 Presidential Election, while MiA stepped forward to translate the local voter’s pamphlet into Spanish.
Because the translations are not official, the Elections Office will not provide printed copies to voters. However, voters are welcome to print the material to use side-by-side with the official ballot.
Voters are reminded that they must return the official ballot, which is printed only in English, to the Spokane County Elections Office.
“Spokane is a sharing community. When people see a need, local organizations step up. The League of Women Voters and Mujeres in Action are outstanding examples of Spokane’s spirit of sharing,” Dalton said.
