This November, as voters go to the polls to cast their ballots, some U.S. citizens will face insurmountable challenges. 

That’s because a growing number of voters who need assistance at the voting booth live in jurisdictions where election officials may not allow them to get that help despite federal requirements established under the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That federal statute remains one of the most powerful tools to address this nation’s legacy of racial discrimination at the ballot box. Its protections extend to voters who have limited English proficiency and those with disabilities. 

Yet states and counties are failing to comply with an important provision in that law that guarantees individuals who need assistance in casting a ballot the right to bring the helper of their choice into the voting booth. Limited English proficient voters often rely on individuals they trust to help them read and cast English language ballots. 

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