(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has heard arguments in a case that will determine if Iowans may get voting materials in languages other than English. Last year, a Polk County District Court judge ruled counties may offer voter registration forms in different languages. The state appealed, citing the Iowa law that requires all government documents in the state to be in English. Leif Olson — the state’s chief deputy attorney general — says there are ways Iowa citizens who do not speak English can exercise their right to vote, without government-issued documents translated into another language. “The people in the auditor’s office could — speaking the person’s native language — walk them through the form,” he said. “They could call the translation line that’s available for courts for less frequently used languages to have that person walk someone through the form.”

The League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa sued the state three years ago to reverse the policy. The group’s attorney — Uzoma Nkwonta — says federal election law requires states to offer language assistance to citizens who have limited English proficiency — and translated voting materials are essential for non-English speakers.  “Congress did not require all jurisdictions to provide those materials because you obviously have to balance election administration,” he said, “but it’s already established that it’s necessary to secure the right to vote.”

The Iowa English Language Reaffirmation Act was signed into law in 2002 by Governor Tom Vilsack. It says English is the official language of the State of Iowa and all official documents should be in English.