KING: CULVER VIOLATES IOWA LAW
Elected Officials Take Oath to Uphold all Iowa Laws
SIOUX CITY - U.S. Congressman Steve King today called on Iowa's Secretary of State, Chet Culver, to remove illegal voting materials from his official Secretary of State website and asks Culver to issue a statement, "in English, that you have now been officially apprised of Iowa law and that you will hereafter refrain from willful violation."
In a letter to Culver today, King cites Chapter 1.18 of the Iowa Code, which declares English the official language of Iowa. According to State law, all official government communications must be in English. On his taxpayer-supported Secretary of State website, Culver has posted foreign language voting forms in Spanish, Laotian and Vietnamese, and voter registration forms in Bosnian, Spanish, Laotian and Vietnamese.
King called on Culver to remove the violations from his government website, and explain to Iowans that, as an elected official to represent the residents of Iowa, he fully understands Iowa laws.
"Iowans have told their representatives that they want government conducted in English," said King. "Our Secretary of State took an oath to uphold all our laws, not ignore the ones with which he doesn't agree."
As a State senator, King was the author of Iowa's English Language Reaffirmation Act, which requires that government business be conducted in English. Private sector business is not affected. The law was signed by Governor Vilsack in 2002. King is also the sponsor of H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is in the top two percent of most-sponsored bills in the House.
Following is the text of the letter King sent to Culver late yesterday:
________________________________________________________________
The Honorable Chet Culver
Secretary of State
1007 East Grand Avenue
Room 105, State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319
Dear Secretary Culver,
I have visited your Official Secretary of State web site and confirmed that you are in direct violation of Iowa law.
Chapter 1.18 of the Iowa Code declares English the official language of the state of Iowa. Chapter 1.18 reads in part, "the English language is hereby declared to be the official language of the state of Iowa. All official... publications...shall be in the English language." All official communications of the state of Iowa and its political subdivisions must be in English. On your website you have foreign language voting forms in the Spanish, Laotian and Vietnamese languages. You also have foreign language voter registration forms in Bosnian, Spanish, Laotian and Vietnamese.
The Iowa General Assembly established English as the official language of Iowa because it is the language of opportunity and cultural continuity. When immigrants come to Iowa and become naturalized citizens, they are required, by the federal government, to prove proficiency in both the written and spoken English language before they can become citizens and vote in our elections. Naturalizing immigrants work hard to learn English.
As a State Senator, I authored the Iowa English Language Reaffirmation Act of 2001, which became Iowa law. This law was signed by Governor Vilsack in 2002 because he understood that we need a common language so that we can communicate with one another.
Our official elections take place in English so that there is no confusion and less corruption. For example, do you expect County Auditors to be proficient in Spanish, Laotian, Vietnamese and Bosnian? Certainly, you do not expect poll workers to serve as official translators for these and other languages.
As our Secretary of State, you are charged with executing certain election laws and with respecting all of them. I ask that you immediately remove the foreign language voting materials from your website and cease their distribution in any form. Iowa law clearly requires that all voting materials be printed in English.
I insist that you remove the foreign language voting materials from your official website. For the sake of the public record on this transgression, I also ask you to issue an official statement, in English, that you have now been officially apprised of Iowa law and that you will hereafter refrain from willful violation.
Sincerely,
Member of Congress
Fifth District, Iowa
