With 400K Ga. Latino voters in play, bilingual ‘guardians’ step in where voting machines fall short – Atlanta News First

With 400K Ga. Latino voters in play, bilingual ‘guardians’ step in where voting machines fall short  Atlanta News First

More than 40 trained bilingual volunteers are fanning out across polling sites in Gwinnett, DeKalb and Clayton counties to assist voters facing language barriers and administrative hurdles during Georgia’s early voting period. ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — More than 40 trained bilingual volunteers are fanning out across polling sites in Gwinnett, DeKalb and Clayton counties to assist voters facing language barriers and administrative hurdles during Georgia’s early voting period. The mobilization by immigrant advocacy organization We Are CASA comes as Georgia Secretary of State election data show the state’s Latino electorate has climbed to more than 400,000 registered voters, making up over 4% of the statewide total. Nearly one-third of those voters are under age 30.

Known as “poll guardians,” the volunteers are stationed outside selected polling places to greet voters as they arrive, monitor lines and document potential voting irregularities. “I think that it’s good to see people that look like you being there, and I think that will make them more comfortable, also speaking their language,” said Carliana Harris, a We Are CASA member. Organizers said their presence is also designed to address community anxieties and rumors regarding potential law enforcement or immigration enforcement activity near polling locations. “Anything that’s happening at the poll locations where it’s putting people off, that’s intimidating, that it’s creating a barrier