Ninth Circuit Rules Recall Petitions Don’t Have to be in Multiple Languages
The Ninth Circuit has reversed an earlier panel decision byholding this morning that recall petitions do not have to be in multiple languages.
Under today’s ruling, recall petitions only need to be circulated in English. The earlier panel decision (which ruled that recall petitions had to be circulated in Spanish as well as English) had caused some confusion among election lawyers and recall and initiative proponents. Following the panel decision, several initiatives were circulated in multiple languages, at significant cost to the petition proponents. In some jurisdictions, like Los Angeles County, as many as 6 languages could be required under the earlier decision.
Today’s ruling means that recall petitions need not be circulated in languages other than English. The Ninth Circuit stated:
"A requirement of translation for recall petitions is far more likely to be used as a sword than a shield, as in the case of the plaintiffs here, who brought their suit to stop an election for which sufficient signatures had been collected. The plaintiffs complain that they were deceived as to the nature of the petition, and this deception… Read More