A woman trying to run for the San Luis, Arizona, City Council will not appear on the ballot after the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a ruling that her English was not good enough.
Alejandrina Cabrera has been locked in a political battle regarding her proficiency in the English language. But her story is more than a local election dispute, with possibly widespread implications in a country that prides itself as a melting pot.
In the border town of San Luis, 87% of residents speak a language other than English in their homes, and 98.7% are of Hispanic origin, according to 2010 U.S. census data. Most of the people there, by all accounts, speak both English and Spanish.
“I think my English is good enough to hold public office in San Luis, Arizona,” Cabrera told CNN en Español in an interview conducted in Spanish.
“I am not going to help (at the White House). I will be helping here.”
Last month, Yuma County Superior Court Judge John Nelson ruled the woman's name should be taken off the ballot after testimony from linguistics experts and Cabrera. A U.S. citizen born in Yuma, Arizona, Cabrera moved to Mexico and then returned to Yuma for the last three years of school, graduating from Kofa High School.
Cabrera was able to tell her attorney her name and where she was born but struggled with what school she had graduated from, according to the Yuma Sun. After being asked the question three times, without being able to answer in English, the judge allowed Cabrera to leave the witness stand and issued his ruling, the paper reported. In his ruling, Nelson said he wanted to be clear he wasn't saying that Cabrera had an "intelligence" issue but felt she should be removed from the ballot because of her lack of proficiency in English.
Cabrera appealed the ruling to the Arizona Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court Tuesday. CNN has not been able to reach Cabrera, her attorneys and city officials for responses to the ruling.
“It is ordered that the trial court's judgment and orders filed January 27, 2012 are affirmed,” Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch said. “The City Clerk shall not include appellant's name on the March 13, 2012, City Council election ballot. A written decision of this court shall follow in due course.”
At present it's unclear what factored into the justices' decision, but Cabrera's story has caught the attention of people nationwide and sparked a debate about who is best able to represent the people of a certain community.
“When he took my right to be on the ballot, he took away the right of the people who want to vote for me,” Cabrera said after the judge's initial ruling.
As Cabrera's story attracted attention, much of the debate centered on two issues. First, some of CNN's readers said candidates for public office should be able to speak English well. But others argued that the people of San Luis could decide if Cabrera was qualified and choose whether or not to vote for her.
The dispute began when Juan Carlos Escamilla, the mayor of San Luis, said he was concerned that Cabrera might not have the proper grasp of the language for the job. Escamilla filed a lawsuit in December asking a court to determine whether Cabrera's skills qualified her under state law to run for the council seat.
Cabrera admits she isn't the most fluent in English.
Instead of the confident, strong way she speaks in Spanish, Cabrera talks a bit more slowly, and perhaps with less conviction, when she switches to English. She says she can communicate at the level she needs to in English, given where she lives. She grades her English proficiency as a 5 on a scale from 1 to 10.
“I am a very honest so I can tell you I’m not fluid in English, but I do understand it. I can read a letter. I can read a book,” Cabrera said. “Right now I have a private tutor helping me improve my English.”
In 2006, Arizona passed a law that made English the official language of the state. Nearly a century before, in 1910, Congress passed the Enabling Act, which allowed Arizona to become a state with certain requirements. Among them was one that addressed the English language.
"The ability to read, write, speak, and understand the English language sufficiently well to conduct the duties of the office without aid of an interpreter shall be a necessary qualification for all state officers and members of the state legislature," a section of the act reads.
But Cabrera's attorneys argued in court that her disqualification was unfair and may be unconstitutional, saying there is no standard for a specific level of proficiency for a City Council candidate.
“Unbelievable,” John Minore, one of Cabrera's attorneys told the Yuma Sun after the high court ruling. “This is a fine example of judicial activism. Arizona now has a English standard to be on a ballot but doesn't tell you what that standard is. It's amazing that people in government who are in power can spend taxpayer money to keep people off the ballot. This is Hispanics keeping Hispanics off the ballot, compliments of the San Luis City Council.”
The court battle is part of a growing discussion about English in a country where people come from a variety of backgrounds. During a recent presidential debate, GOP candidates said that English should be the official U.S. language and should be the only one taught in school.
Bob Vandevoort of the advocacy group ProEnglish said that the country would be more cohesive if English were made the standard language in government.
"We are concerned as far as government goes; we don't want to see us become a multilanguage nation. We want to see a nation that has one language as far as government is concerned," he said, adding that what people speak at home is a different issue.
Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, said there should be more opportunities to ensure everyone has the resources to learn English. He said there are long lines to get into classes in several cities, with so many people trying to learn English.
But Vargas argues a candidate doesn't necessarily need to have full English proficiency to run for office.
"I think it should be up to the voters to decide what kind of representative they want," he said. "I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to not be able, to not allow someone to present themselves to the voters as a candidate because of their language abilities."
It's unclear what Cabrera's next move may be, but there may still be one way for her to run for the San Luis City Council: as a write-in candidate.
Nevertheless, Cabrera's battle will surely advance the debate about language in America and politics.
Let us know what you think about the issue in the comments below. Do you think the right decision was made?
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If she couldn't tell what school she attended, I can't see how her English could be proficient enough for her to do the job. That's a pretty basic question. (I can answer it in Spanish despite never having spoken Spanish fluently and not having taken any Spanish classes in over ten years.) According to the requirements in the 1910 act, she can't do it.
But the requirement doesn't hold up in the light of ethics of justice, does it?
Agreed! I have taken all of 2 years of spanish and I can tell you what high school I went to in spanish. Yes she could probably get by in San Luis. But what if some higher official in the state needed to coordinate with the San Luis city council? She would have no idea what they were talking about. And lets be honest, the old law about literacy tests being wrong for elected officials is very dated. If you are illiterate in english because you only speak spanish or just because you can't read you are not capable of holding office.
@Kacie the requirement holds up in the light of practicality. How do you expect Arizona to conduct business with the rest of the country if they can't speak english?
Then perhaps learn both languages so you can actually speak to all residents in her area who she will be a VOICE for.
That should be common sense...
98% of that town are ILLEGALS....we shouldnt have to learn another language, they should all be DEPORTED
Arizona's official language is English, so it would seem to make sence to expect the residence and the city council members to speak the language.
So if an English-speaking candidate represents U.S. citizens of Hispanic ethnicity, they should learn to speak Spanish? The city has a population of 98.7% Hispanic origination. Seems to me, following your logic, that every single one of the elected officials in the city of San Luis, Arizona should be proficient in both English and Spanish.
If they don't speak Spanish, I doubt they would even be elected in a city where almost everyone is Hispanic.
Common sense has no place in today's society, didn't you get the memo?
Shouldn't the voters have been given the opportunity to make that decision themselves?
98.7% of the residents primary language is Spanish. 1.3% of the residents primary language is something other than Spanish, and not necessarily English.
Even the current SCOTUS would see through this crap. Let's hope it makes it to them...
Common sense is knowing the offical language of the country in which you live.
With your logic, people who can only speak English should not be able to hold office either because they can't be voices for people who cannot speach English at all.
HER NEIGHBORS ARE ALL ILLEGALS AND NO ONE SPEAK ANY ENGLISH..LOL.
This is America. We Americans speak english. If there is anyone in the U.S. who cannot speak fluent English, they are either tourists, here legally or they are here illegally. Kick out all illegals.
Agreed! At this point, she would not be doing her people much of a service, since she is not yet there, a VOICE. Learn! Learn! So many other immigrants have become bi-lingual. Grow!
Really??? This is where we're at now? Is it too much to ask for our elected leaders to at least speak English proficiently? I would like to at least understand their poorly contrived excuses when they dance around the usual incompetence and corruption accusations.
can we please stop starting sentences with "really?" "what really?" "seriously?" most people have stopped this cringe worthy practice but there are few that keep doing it......finally i am also happy to announce that people are very rarely using "that being said" and "having said that" any more ....we can all work togthere on this. also pleas stop with "oh yeah i forgot"
RanXerox
If that's all you have to say then please just shut up and move on.
Xerox, capitalization and punctuation are also necessary when writing.
In re to ronxerox.....yeah, it does get on your nerves.how about this one......" I read with interest" bah,bah,bah.
Correct ruling, if you cannot speak the English language you cannot properly read the laws and understand them. therefor you should not hold office. Thank you judges for your ruling.
Since when has the ability to understand the laws you create something you have to understand. If that were the case most of our law making bodies were have to expel most of their members.
The idea is to be able to speak and READ the language of the laws. To be able to interpret them reasonably and without a doubt able to converse in the language the law is written. Being able to READ and comprehend the language of the laws for the people who speak the language of the area. This woman may be able to "speak" the language, of which I call "Americanese" as it has a mixture of all languages incorporated into the English, but she cannot answer a simple question in the language she professed to be proficient. I suggest she go to the Laubauch Literacy Program and find someone to help her learn the language, to read and write proficiently, and then come back and apply again with proof she has improved her ability to understand the language.
O.M.G.
The entire country had to endure George W. Bush....... for eight years.
in re to elderlady....what does this have to do with this story?
@carolyn walker,
Dubya spoke atrocious English. (Possibly, still does. Haven't heard him speak, of late.) And supposedly, it was (and still is) his native tongue.
I think the entire situation is just a reflection of how intolerant this country, once a proud melting pot, has become of outsiders. We forget with the exception of the Indians all of our relatives came from different backgrounds and many could not speak English or were limited in their proficiency, yet many held offices and many were successful in business. I admire this person's honesty about the subject matter and her desire to better her community. I think the underlying issue for the current Mayor is he knows he can't win against her and therefore found a loophole, in the process wasting the taxpayers money. I would suggest she start a campaign for write in votes...bet she would win by a landslide.
Yep, there it is, the ubiquitous race card
It's not ignorant or bigotry to expect someone to speak English if they want to hold office in America. We speak English, and anyone who moves here or runs for office is expected to do the same.
Kia, I am White, how can I play the race card...get over it and try to respond intelligently, if you can.
Dom, by that same argument that means hearing or speech impaired individuals could possibly be held from running for office because they too can not proficiently speak without the aid of an interpreter. This has far reaching implications, I think in the end it should be left to the voters to decide and not the Courts. It was not like she was running for the Presidency, it is a local office...and if folks are worried about the cost of the interpreter I am sure there were plenty in the community willing to provide services for free. This wreaks of dirty politics but then that is the American way.
The law that applies to the case is over a hundred years old, and was in the middle of the period that defined the US as a "melting pot". There is nothing unreasonable in the expectation that a State Representative be able to effectively communicate without interpreters.
Nearly a century before, in 1910, Congress passed the Enabling Act, which allowed Arizona to become a state with certain requirements. Among them was one that addressed the English language.
"The ability to read, write, speak, and understand the English language sufficiently well to conduct the duties of the office without aid of an interpreter shall be a necessary qualification for all state officers and members of the state legislature,"
Did you not see were the law they are enforcing is from 1910? Meaning, even back in 1910 those indians, immigrants, and ESL citizens your refer to had to learn english to serve as a public official.
How is it intolerance, when we ask someone who wants to run for public office, to speak our language? They have got to be able to communicate, read and understand laws and meeting minutes, and take part in discussions. What is wrong with you? It is a common-sense ruling by the judge.
Hearing or speech impairment is a disability. Refusal to learn, or speak, English, is not a disability.
Idiot. If you don't want to assimilate, than stay the hell in your motherland.
Not intolerant. Actually, we shouldn't tolerate non-english proficiency in a government job. Every other country requires (that I know of) a common governing language. But, she can simply get a different job if she doesn't want to learn english. That's one of the benefits of living in the USA.
NO...he saw a stupid mexican who could not speak english on the taxpayers payroll.
@topogeeeeeejo,
She is in her motherland...
You say things without listing facts. Can you cite any example of a person holding public office who could not comprehend English?
if she wants to serve her community then she should abide by the laws of her community, learn English, and then seek office....it's that simple
Jake, this is from the article you didn't/couldn't read:
"The dispute began when Juan Carlos Escamilla, the mayor of San Luis, said he was concerned that Cabrera might not have the proper grasp of the language for the job."
Juan Carlos Escamilla. Does that sound like a white dude to you? No, it does not. This is not race issue. It's a simple matter of the woman being incapable of communicating with the rest of the government.
Your forgetting though that these previous immigrants worked very hard to ensure their children spoke the English language and melded into our culture.
Historically, the English speaking Puritans landed in America after first trying to settle in the Netherlands while refusing to learn the language. The American belief in the supremacy of English comes from the warped idea that the King James Bible was printed in "God's language." ... By the way, if the tables were turned, and Mexico had acquired the southwest from the U.S. instead of the other way around, how many native English speakers, suddenly under the rule of another nation, would have held onto their culture and language?
If you have a point to make, please do so.
I think Kacie is referring to "reconquista."
Read "Two Years Before the Mast" by Dana. When he visited California (back when it was Mexico) he tells of many white settlers who raised their children in the Mexican culture and speaking Spanish. It is what was expected of them.
I think the biggest problem here is the broad use of the word "proficient" without there being any actual guidelines. How do they arbitrarily determine proficiency? Should a person running for office be required to have a level of mastery equivalent to that of a Harvard English Professor? Without a defined set of guidelines how is a person supposed to know if their English passes the proverbial litmus test?
The fact that she was born in the US, graduated from an American High School, and is of legal age to run for office should be sufficient for her to appear on the ballot. Beyond that, it should be left to the voters to decide if she's qualified to hold office. The people should be left to determine her qualifications, which includes her grasp of the English language.
she couldn't even tell the court what high school she graduated from when asked. Not only is she not proficient but she doesn't even know english. Probably graduated high school like half of Americans, just getting passed on because there is nothing else to do with them
I'm not sure how one goes through 12 years of public schooling in the US and graduate without being able to grasp English.
The article said she was born in the U.S. but grew up in Mexico. She only attended her last three years of high school in th U.S. I would think she would have a better grasp of the English language than she does, but I don't know what the graduation requirements are for the schools in the district in which she graduated. It is entirely possible that she was part of an English Language Learners program that provided her with translation assistance in order to meet those graduation requirements. Unfortunately, the laws for holding public office in that area do not allow for assistance in meeting those requirements. The judge was merely upholding the laws that are currently on the books. If enough people feel the decision was incorrect, then perhaps that will generate the momentum necessary to change the law.
>>> Should a person running for office be required to have a level of mastery equivalent to that of a Harvard English Professor? <<<
Had that been the case, Dubya would have been automatically disqualified, wouldn't he (have been)?
Suddenly, I find myself to be a fan of the "proficiency in English" rule... *LOL*
Home run Shawn.
Please remove the post of Songlian Chen. It's most likely a troll post
Not only are this woman's rights being violated, the people of San Luis's rights are being violated for not being allowed to vote for her.
If you don't think she is qualified to hold the office....DON'T VOTE FOR HER.
This woman is a natural born U.S. citizen...that can be denounced, but never taken away!
IF YOU VIOLATE HER RIGHTS, THEN YOU VIOLATE ALL OF OUR RIGHTS!
-BoZero
So if I move to this town for whatever reason and attend a city council meeting where I cannot understand a speech she is giving where does that leave me as an American citizen living in one of the "United States" of America?
There is NO official language in the USA. None. Period.
Although I think it would behoove this candidate to learn to speak and read English properly, it should not be used as the sole argument for keeping her off the ballot. She is a citizen in good standing and should be on the ballot. Vote against her if you like, but this reeks of Jim Crow laws that required people be able to read and write to vote.
As wiki points out, we do not have an officially mandated language, but English is the de facto language. It's the mother tongue of 82% of the population, and 96% speak it "well". By comparison, only 12% of the population speaks Spanish.
Obviously, if you want to live in a country where 96% of the population speaks one language, and 12% speak another, you'd better learn the former, especially if you want to govern.
Could not agree more!
Let me clarify...could not agree more with Solex!
There is no Federal official language.States can, and have, made english the official language. The article actually states this.
"There is NO official language in the USA. None. Period."
It would appear that you are wrong. I don't care what language you speak in your home but if are going to be on the public stage speak english or go home.
@Solex,
Could not agree more!
@boarddog
She is home.
While there is no "official" language of the US, every single one of the laws is written in English. Therefore, if she wants to participate she ought to be able to read, write, and comprehend English. It is simply a case of effectiveness in a public office. This has nothing to do with Jim Crow laws or prohibiting people's ability to vote, rather her clear inability to represent the entirety of the public. Key word there being entirety.
The states official language is English and the article makes that very clear.
Why is this even an issue? We live in the United States of America and the "official" language here is English. If you can't speak it well enough to answer the simple question of where you went to high school then you can't run for office. Although...George Bush didn't have a good grasp of the language either and he became President. HA
Actually, we do not have an "official" language. AZ has established an official language, but not the entire country and definitely not the federal government. She was born and raised in America and is and American citizen. If she wants to run for office, no judge should stop her. Let the people decide who they want to win.
@justme. Correct me if I'm wrong justme, but I do believe the position she was running for a state position and not a federal one
Ummmmm actually, just me,, she is a citizen of the United States, not America. There are several languages spoken in "America" but English is the one spoken here in the United States.
I agree.
Wait... this woman graduated H.S. and can't even answer a very simple question.... oh yeah, public schools are the best... The Judge ruled correctly. The law states an elected official must be proficient in English... period.
That disqualifies Dubya, and also that guy (another Republican; Quayle, wasn't he?) who would rather spell "potato" as "potatoe"...
Seems like the current enforcement here is a ruling on the presentation of Ms. Cabrera's name on the ballot. This does not preclude her from being a write-in candidate. If she's able to gain a majority as such, that would be the first step to abolishing the statute which keeps her off a ballot. Raise the ante, welcome to democracy.
Excellent idea!
Could not agree more.
Well, when the Polish, Italian, Irish, etc. immigrants came here at the turn of the century, if you could not speak english, you did work, or eat. They NEVER expected everyone else to learn their language. So tough luck, in America, English is the FIRST language period!
Well, when the first immigrants to come here landed off the Mayflower, they could not speak the local language. They did work, and they did eat. Ironically, they NEVER learned the local language. Nor do their descendants, even today, who expect everyone else to learn their language. So tough luck; in America, English is yet another language; a more commonly understood language, perhaps, but nevertheless, just yet another language, period.
chinese speak english so the spikos should speak american english to. lern english spikos.
Agree. It's amazing that people just don't get it. It's great that you can speak a language other than English. But if your aspiration is to run for an office in the United States you should be expected to be proficient in English.