Long lines of eager voters stretched through the Northampton County Courthouse on the last day of early voting where a translator stood ready to assist Spanish-speaking voters.
The local Hispanic community rose from 18.8% of Lehigh County’s population in 2010 to 25.9% in 2020, and from 10.5% in Northampton County in 2010 to 14.3% in 2020. Currently, more than one in five people living in Lehigh and Northampton counties are Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Ensuring there’s equal access to voting for Spanish-speaking voters is a vital responsibility that comes with this demographic reality,” said Alexandra Sierra, the language coordinator for the Lehigh County Voter Office.
Federal law mandates that specific counties in Pennsylvania — including Philadelphia, Berks and Lehigh —provide all election materials in both English and Spanish, per Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. This requirement applies to regions where more than 10,000 residents or higherthan 5% of the total voting-age population belong to a single-language minority group, have low literacy rates and don’t speak English proficiently.
In Pennsylvania, all registered voters can bring someone they trust to the polling place to help interpret and translate the ballot and instructions into their preferred language, according to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania website. They don’t need permission for this, but polling places may ask voters to sign a declaration indicating they need help.
However, Sierra said the person assisting can’t be the judge of elections or a representative of your employer or union.
Monique Gomez, a Northampton County court interpreter, has been helping people translate English into Spanish throughout her career and said democracy doesn’t work if a specific group cannot participate or have the same rights.
She said those non-English speakers deserve the same access to justice as English speakers have, and having a translator doesn’t give them an unfair advantage.
“The significance of taking all these precautions is fundamentally about ensuring equal access to justice, as outlined in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, gender and other factors, including language,” Gomez said.
To ensure Spanish-speaking voters have their ballots accurately counted, Sierra said translators, who specialize in written text, and interpreters who focus on spoken language, play the most crucial roles.
As a result, she said she hired 146 translators and interpreters in Lehigh County to be dispatched to different polling locations on Election Day.
Sierra also said each translator and interpreter underwent specific training and certification to help them assist Spanish-speaking voters effectively.
Gomez said having employees who have completed the required training and certification process is preferred over relying on volunteers because it ensures impartiality, prevents influence on voters and guarantees an unbiased experience.
“We’re here to make sure that (Spanish-speaking voters) understand everything just as if (they) were a native speaker of the (English) language,” Gomez said. “It’s essential to not add, edit or change the meaning of the original message.”
Emely Castrejon, ’25, is a bilingual, native-born Hispanic and co-president of Fuerzas Mexicana, a club dedicated to celebrating Mexican culture.
Castrejon said in the past she has voted without aid but appreciates the Spanish language resources available to those who need them.
She said translators and interpreters are crucial for both decision-making and completing the ballot, including reading and marking choices, and she believes creating this accessibility is key to enhancing civic engagement.
“Voters should feel comfortable in their preferred language, ensuring they make informed decisions based on their candidates, not translation issues,” Castrejon said.
Sierra said striking down the language barrier helps Spanish-speaking voters feel prepared and confident in their decisions.
“The interpreters and translators are there to let them (Spanish-speaking voters) know that their vote is just as equal as everyone else’s,” Sierra said.
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