Do u think that the U.s should change there ballots beacuase of the different languages?
143355
All Ballots in the United States need to be in English only, I think that if you cannot speak English then you should not be allowed to vote in U.S. Elections\n\nAnd I do not wanna hear any crap on how it is racist or discrimination to deny voting rights to persons who cannot speak English because guess what in this or that Country the Ballots are in the main language of their Country and such Countries expect a voter to know the language that is on the Ballot.\n\nIf you wanna live in America, be an American and have the right to vote then you should learn to speak English, and if you wanna speak Spanish then move to Mexico.
129695
The US does not have an offical language.  Some people would like to make English the one (I tend to agree).  But with our diverse culture I hardly think it would be fair or right
975521
The USA already uses English as the language of its government and legal system.  Making it official, like France or England does, calls into question whether we can then spend government money to publish things in Spanish, Vietnamese, or other languages.  \n\nSo, the language of the USA is English, but we do not deny our immigrants the help they need in their own languages while they are becoming American (which takes a generation).\n\nI think that most of the people who want to make English the Official Language want to do so to make it more difficult for immigrants to assimilate here.  I think they feel threatened by other cultures and want a return to an America they perceived as white and European.\n\nI think we should not adopt an official language, or 2 or 3, but we should continue to use English for our government and laws, and use multiple languages where people need help.
579934
I believe that the inability to communicate effectively is one of the root causes of conflict in this world.  A common language is extremely important to foster better communication.  \n\nTo this end, all government activies, including voting, public schooling, etc. should be conducted in one language, ONLY!  Of course the government should have intensive language programs in place to ensure that EVERYONE is given the opportunity to learn the language.\n\nAs for the choice of language...  I would rather have seen the Senate be a bit more forward thinking and choose the language of the next century.  No, not spanish...  Chinese.\n\n;-)
718341
Okay...\n\nSo if they speak spanish, then this changes the rules???
99350
I propose we change the version of english spoken in the US, and call it American. Being that we are a bigger and meaner country than England, we can bully them and say we speak proper english, but truth be told, English is from England.
507370
Why not!\nThe US is a country of immigrants and is marked by ethnic diversity. When India can have several(14) national languages, surely two is no big deal.
81933
No. People just cant come to our country and change it to better them. Its been this way and we should not change b/c of them. Its a free country so you have a choose not to say it.
406767
I think people miss the point of that.  Why do people hold the U.S. to a different standard than other countries.  EVERY country has an official language, and they all have people from other nationalities living to them.  If EVERY country tried to cater to EVERY language spoken in it, no one would get anything done ever.  Just because English is the national language of the U.S. does not mean that the U.S. is somehow slapping other languages in the face.  If you want to live here, work here, and thrive here...learn the language.  That does not mean that there is anything wrong with other languages or that we as U.S. citizens should not learn other languages, we should.  However, just like any other country we do have a national language and people should learn it to function here.  That is no different than if I went to Germany, Russia, Cuba, Japan...those countries businesses and schools will not cater to me...its in my best interest if I want to succeed in their country, to learn their language.  That is true of the U.S. also.  So, yes,it bothers me to with the press one or two thing....learn the language...but don't come here to BE an American and then DEMAND that everyone else here conform to your language so that you can function.  If you choose to operate here, then learn how we operate and do it.  I would have to do it in another country, so anyone who comes here should have to do it here.
316119
I think the main issue is money.  Do you realize how much it would cost to print every government form in multiple languages?  In Canada, where the official languages are French and English, the government budget for printing all "official" documents is both languages is out of control.\n\nJust imagine if every form, from income tax forms to applying for a driver's license had to be issued in English, Spanish, Cantonese (and Mandarin), and a multitude of others.  Even in places where no one speaks those languages, these forms would have to be on hand, and updated every time one is changed.  It's a monumental waste of time and paper.\n\nI think by instituting an Official Language, it forces immigrants to conform to the country they are coming to, instead of the country conforming to them.
367365
greenpeacein79 has a valid point...  America does not have an 'official' language.\n\nIn the early days of the formation of this country, when it came time for our forefathers to write the documents that would lay the foundations of our sovereignty, English beat out German as the language of choice BY ONLY ONE VOTE.\n\nThat said, English is the predominant language used in the U.S., and the language in which all of this country's laws are written.\n\nFurthermore, anybody who wants to be economically viable in the global market, at least at this point in history, needs some command of the English language, it's that simple:  It's not an opinion, it's not a theory...\n\nIt's just a f*****g fact of life,... so get used to it.
1151202
It makes sense. Some people ARE American citizens but struggle with English. You wouldn't want them to vote for the wrong person just because they couldn't read the ballot. Right?\n\nI see many people bringing "issues" into play. And I'd like to mention that they could have been very interested in the issues. There are many Spanish (and other language) news channels in the U.S. that cover American issues (as well as closed captioning in other languages) in which case they'd understand them perfectly. So that can't be used in a debate against multi-lingual ballots.\n\nThere's multi-lingual tax forms and they pay American taxes, so why should voting be treated differently? If they are American citizens they have EVERY right to vote as one. (Actually probably even MORE of a right then random rednecks in nowheresville USA that don't even have a tv to watch the debates or anything else.)\n\nJust thought of an analogy here (I'm not trying to start a fight, just make a good debate).\n   Say you were taking a foreign language in school or something. We'll say French. You're pretty good at it, but not great. It's still a little tough. Then you go to France and still hang out with a lot of your English-speaking friends and family and use English a lot. Don't practice your French too much. Then you need to do something REALLY important. Would you want to do it in French? I mean, your French isn't all that good, and it IS really important, you wouldn't want to mess anything up. You would ask to do it in English. Right? (personally, I know I would).\n      Same thing.\n\nAgain, no offense (seriously, I don't want to piss anyone off, I'm not being sarcastic or anything), I'm just trying to help make a sturdy, well-founded argument. Many people don't seem to have a clear grasp on WHY exactly we have multi-lingual ballots. I think it's perfectly fair and everyone should have a chance. But hey, that's just me :-)\n\nPS: Back to Bow Wow. I know it takes 7 years to become a citizen. But have you ever tried to learn an entire language in 7 years? It's HARD! I mean seriously HARD. I have been taking Spanish for almost 9 years and I'm STILL not fluent and I've studied abroad twice. And Spanish and English are at least somewhat similar languages. What about if they're from Japan? They need to learn a whole new alphabet, new numbers, a new political system, new everything! That must be even harder! So that can't really be used as an excuse either.
221341
It's up to the states to decide...opponents like the ACLU debate that making English the offical language would be unconstiutional because it would not enable the Spanish-speaking, German-speaking, and French-speaking immigrants and citizens from a fair and just trial, liberties and such.\n\nGoogle it, but I think because the United States is soo big and diverse, that it wouldn't be fair to the first immigrants of this country.
683178
Maybe you should learn to speak, read AND write PROPER ENGLISH, the language spoken in the USA!!!!!!!
328390
well its not easy for a lot of people to just pick up a single language\n\nhowever, it will be simplified eventually; only 8 major languages will remain from the 200 there are currently
643041
They have certain rights, just like Americans do when traveling or working in a foreign country, but naturally, illegal immigrants can't vote, can they.  I happen to think they should try to learn the language like my grandparents did when they came to the US.  When I lived in Germany, the first thing I did was take German lessons.  When I lived n Mexico I learned Spanish-- it's only right, don't you think?
362162
I -somehow- agree with you, I know there´s no official language in the USA but for years English has been the predominant language and it is something that should be kept like that. On the other hand I think the American government should get more involved to preserve English, HOW? Simple teach English to those foreigners who come legally, I know there´s lot of issues now with that matter but lets set them aside for the meanwhile.Here for example there´s lots of ppl who come from sud America Africa and Asia no breaking ground news still Spanish comes second what the guv does here is to teach Swedish to those ppl who come there are schools that are called SFI (svenska for invandrare) Swedish for foreigners the classes and books are for free so there are no excuses for not to go and ppl are shown the benefits of speaking the language, these courses are not for illegal ppl but everybo knows here taking those courses will give em a better job indeed that ´s taken like a lil motivation. About other languages driving lessons and tests can be taken in English and Spanish as well as some university courses (English) .Now a days ppl are lazy to learn but not all I met lots of Mexican/Latin ppl in Miami who would speak English as well as up north in Chicago =).