The County of Santa Clara has canceled proposed budget cuts for ballots and election specialists in four Asian languages of Japanese, Korean, Hindi and Khmer. County Superintendent Otto Lee raised the issue before the County Administration and successfully campaigned to retain the funds.
Since 2020, the County has offered voting resources in nine languages. While English, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese are mandated, the County also provided ballots and election specialists in Japanese, Korean, Hindi and Khmer, owing to the large number of people living in the South Bay who speak these languages.
In the March 2024 primary election, 1230 voters cast ballots in these four languages, a number that has gone up 68% in the last four years. This is a significant margin in a region where electoral races often go down to the wire, making every single vote important.
After the County budget recommended cuts for voting resources in these four languages, voters raised the issue with Superintendent Otto Lee who took up their cause.
To know more about the available voting resources in Santa Clara County, click here.