A right-wing Republican congressional candidate is calling to restrict voting just to English speakers.
Anthony Hudson, who's running a toss-up race for an open U.S. House seat, posted a video online expressing his opposition to translating voter ballots into other languages, a service that's enshrined in the 1965 Voting Rights Act, reported Heartland Signal.
“You see, this is America, and we speak English,” Hudson says in the video. “If you’re not a citizen, you don’t vote, and if you are an American citizen, you need to be able to speak English to be able to vote.
"We’re not going to waste taxpayer dollars on translations of our ballots. You need to learn how to speak in our language if you’re going to be a citizen of this country.”
Amendments to the landmark voting rights law require jurisdictions with a high number of voters who speak little English to provide voting materials in other languages, and California, Florida and other states have strengthened similar laws on their books.
"What's happening has got to stop," Hudson says in the video. "I mean, when is it going to get too far or so far that you guys will finally wake up and understand this is bulls--t. We can't keep allowing this to happen. Well, I'm going to tell you it's right now."
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Hudson's video was posted in reaction to San Francisco appointing Chinese immigrant Kelly Wong, whom he falsely accused of being an undocumented immigrant, to the city’s Elections Commission.
“Even though I’m fluent in English, I still encounter challenges in navigating a new system, let alone participating in political conversation and activities,” said Wong, a legal non-citizen who holds a visa.
“I’ve seen how language and cultural barriers prevent immigrants with limited English proficiency from fully exercising their right to vote. Is there a way to do voter outreach that is not just about translation but can touch on political education while maintaining neutrality and impartiality in elections?”
The 46-year-old Hudson, who owns a trucking company outside Flint, MI, and previously filed paperwork to run for president, is seeking the GOP nomination for Michigan's 8th Congressional District, whose seat is currently held by the retiring Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee.
“[Donald Trump's] just a man. So is Joe Biden," said Hudson, who voted for Trump twice. "What I have to offer that they can’t is I’m from the people.”
