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Division of Elections

State of Alaska

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About Language Assistance

For language assistance and information or to inquire about becoming a Bilingual Election Worker, please call 1-866-954-8683 (toll free within the U.S.) or email elections.lap@alaska.gov.

The Division of Elections is committed to ensuring that every eligible Alaskan can vote. Language Assistance reflects this commitment. These efforts are guided in part by federal regulations established as part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which requires the Division of Elections to provide language assistance to specific groups if more than five percent of that voting age population speaks limited English. The State of Alaska is covered under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act for Alaska Native languages. In December of 2020, the federal government released the new 203 language determinations for the minority language groups that require language assistance.

The areas identified in the most recent Federal Register for 203 determinations in Alaska are:

  • Aleutians East Borough: 
    Yup’ik (Bristol Bay Yup’ik)
  • Aleutians West Census Area: 
    Filipino (Tagalog)
  • Bethel Census Area: 
    Yup’ik (General Central Yup’ik, Nunivak Cup’ig)
  • Bristol Bay Borough: 
    Yup’ik (Bristol Bay Yup’ik)
  • Dillingham Census Area: 
    Yup’ik (Bristol Bay Yup’ik)
  • Kodiak Island Borough: 
    Filipino (Tagalog)
  • Kusilvak Census Area:
    Yup’ik (Chevak Cup’ik, General Central Yup’ik, Hooper Bay Yup’ik, Norton Sound Kotlik Yup’ik, Yukon Yup’ik)
  • Lake and Peninsula Borough:
    Yup’ik (Bristol Bay Yup’ik)
  • Nome Census Area:
    Yup’ik (General Central Yup’ik, Norton Sound Kotlik Yup’ik)
  • North Slope Borough:
    Inupiat (Northern Inupiat)
  • Northwest Arctic Borough:
    Inupiat (Northern Inupiat)

How Can You Help?

The Division of Elections hires bilingual workers each election cycle to provide language assistance to voters. If you are fluent in English and one of the Alaska Native languages, Tagalog, or Spanish, and would like to serve as a bilingual voter registrar, outreach worker or poll worker, please contact the Regional Elections Office for your area to complete and submit our bilingual election worker application.

What types of language assistance does Alaska provide?

Alaska’s Language Assistance Program provides translated written and oral election materials for languages that are historically written and unwritten. Some materials vary in degree of completion. On-call interpreters are available on Election Day. The Division of Elections also provides oral language assistance through bilingual registrars, outreach workers, bilingual poll workers, and translators in communities where there is a need. The Division also produces audio translations of election information and translated Public Service Announcements. Language assistance is available during any stage of the electoral process in an Alaska Native language or Tagalog. Bilingual election workers can assist voters, or voters may use a person of their choice to provide assistance as long as that person is not a candidate, an employer, agent of their employer, or agent of their union. The person chosen to assist may go into the voting booth with the voter to help the voter cast their ballot.

Click on each language for available resources provided in that language.