As a State Senator, King took
Vilsack to court over his Executive Order that King had declared
unconstitutional and that both Vilsack and Miller claimed was
both legal and constitutional. The Iowa Court ruled Vilsack's
executive order unconstitutional in the case of King v. Vilsack.
Getting it
Right: Where the Des Moines Register Fails
The
Des Moines Register,
Iowa's notorious liberal newspaper, today published an editorial
which says Chet Culver should be allowed to break Iowa law, even
though, as an elected Secretary of State, he took an oath to
uphold all of Iowa's laws.
Most Iowans don't turn to the
Des Moines Register
for objective facts, but they deserve the truth about Iowa's
official English law.
Please refer to the below
background information on Iowa's official English law.
"King jumped all over Iowa
Secretary of State Chet Culver the other day because the
secretary of state's Web site includes information for voters in
a number of languages other than English. King claimed the
"official English" law requires all government communications to
be in English. Wrong," the
Des Moines Register editorial, "A law for show, not
sense," November 4, 2006
FACT: Iowa
Code Section 1.18 declares English the official language of Iowa
and requires that all official actions of the State of Iowa and
its political subdivisions must be in English. (Iowa
Code sec. 1.18(2). The law requires that, "[a]ll official
documents,... publications...shall be in the English language."
Iowa Code sec. 1.18(3).)
FACT: Voting
forms are official documents issued by Secretary of State Chet
Culver. As such, they are subject to the Iowa
law requiring them to be printed in our official language,
English.
As Culver
pointed out, the law contains an exception allowing languages
other than English in communications that help people secure
their constitutional rights. Like voting. Culver clearly was
within the law, and King doesn't understand the law he wrote,"
the Des Moines Register
editorial, "A law for show, not sense," November 4, 2006
FACT: Culver
cannot print foreign language voting forms under the narrow
exception that allows translation by state officials if
translation is necessary to secure a constitutional right.
The constitutional exception
applies to "any language usage required by or necessary to
secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the
United States of America or the Constitution of the State of
Iowa." Iowa Code sec. 1.18(4)(h).
FACT: Foreign
language voting forms are not required by the Constitution or
federal law.
These forms are also not necessary
to secure the constitutional right to vote. Voting is a
constitutional right, but there is no constitutional right to
register to vote in Spanish. We all know that Iowans have a
right to vote, but they do not have the right to demand voting
materials in any foreign language. Furthermore, no federal law
requires foreign language voting in Iowa. There is no
jurisdiction in Iowa that is subject to the foreign language
voting requirements of the Voting Rights Act.
"In fact, the
law is shot through with exceptions. The loopholes are so broad
that it is hard to imagine any state communication that couldn't
legally be printed in some language other than English. One of
the loopholes specifically allows any legislator or state
officer (such as Culver) to use another language whenever the
officer "deems it necessary or desirable to do so," the
Des Moines Register editorial,
"A law for show, not sense" November 4, 2006.
FACT: A very
narrow exception in Section 1.18(5)(a) of the law allows
informal communication to take place between officials and
individuals in languages other than English. This exception was
intended to allow individual officials to communicate with
individuals in other languages on an ad hoc basis.
FACT: The
narrow exception clearly does not apply to official actions
undertaken by an official towards the entire general public.
When Secretary of State Chet
Culver made foreign language voting forms available he was not
communicating with an individual on an informal basis, he was
undertaking official acts that were communicated to the general
public in an official capacity. The informal communication
exception would allow Secretary of State Culver to greet a
visitor to his office in a foreign language, on an informal
basis, but not undertake official actions in foreign languages.
FACT: Voter
Registration and Absentee Ballot Forms are an Official Action as
Secretary of State.
Culver is undertaking an official
action when he prints, or otherwise makes available, voter
registration forms and absentee ballot request forms. Under
Section 1.18(3) of the Iowa Code, an official action is "any
action taken... by an authorized officer or agent of the
government in Iowa that" either "binds the government", "is
required by law" or "is otherwise subject to public scrutiny by
either the press or the public". The foreign language voting
forms at issue are the official forms for voter registration and
absentee ballot requests in Iowa. As such, they bind the
government. These forms are required by law and it is one of
the duties of the Secretary of State to make English forms
available. Finally, these foreign language voting forms are
subject to scrutiny by both the public and the press because
they are public documents that are used by the citizenry.
FACT: Congressman King has
successfully challenged Governor Vilsack and Attorney General
Miller over legal interpretations before.
As a State Senator, King took
Vilsack to court over his Executive Order that King had
declared unconstitutional and that both Vilsack and Miller
claimed was both legal and constitutional. The Iowa Court ruled
Vilsack's executive order unconstitutional in the case of King
v. Vilsack.
