Mistranslations of “felony” into Spanish distort the rights of US voters
What is it about?
Until very recently, ex felons in Florida were prohibited from voting. Now, their right to vote may be reinstated after they fulfill all the terms and conditions of their criminal sentences. Official Florida county election websites should inform all voters of these new and important changes to voter eligibility. This study finds that the websites’ Spanish versions frequently translate “felony” and “felon” using more generic terms that wrongly include minor criminal offenses (misdemeanors). These mistranslations may falsely indicate that those convicted of misdemeanors have the same prerequisites for voting as ex felons. Poor Spanish translations of official Florida voter information may therefore discourage or prevent certain eligible voters from voting. Many of these websites also use inconsistent terminology or rely on Google Translate to render their content into Spanish, which may cause more confusion among Spanish-speaking voters.
Why is it important?
There is an intense and ongoing debate over the voting rights of ex felons in the United States. This debate is particularly pertinent to Florida, which is a key state in US presidential elections. In 2018, Florida restored the voting rights of its 1.4 million ex felons – one of the largest ex felon populations in the country. Minorities are disproportionately represented among this group. The state also has one of the largest populations of Spanish-speaking voters with limited to no proficiency in English. Previous research has demonstrated that Spanish-language voter information significantly impacts election outcomes in areas with high concentrations of monolingual Spanish speakers. Poor translations may negate this effect. High-quality Spanish translations of Florida voter information are therefore crucial.