Oregon Election Division Seeks Members for Translation Advisory Council to Guide Language Accessibility Project
Oregon Secretary of State sent this bulletin at 05/02/2022 11:56 AM PDT
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Secretary of State SHEMIA FAGAN
The State of Oregon
Contact: Ben Morris, 971-209-5521, ben.morris@sos.oregon.gov
Oregon Election Division Seeks Members for Translation Advisory Council to Guide Language Accessibility Project
SALEM, OR — Oregon Secretary of State will begin recruiting today for a new Translation Advisory Council to guide the translation of the state voters’ pamphlet and voters’ pamphlets in Oregon counties. House Bill 3021 passed in 2021 and requires the Secretary of State to produce translated versions of voters’ pamphlets and created the Translation Advisory Council to help guide that work.
"Every Oregonian deserves the opportunity to participate in civic life in our State,” said Secretary of State Shemia Fagan. “The Translation Advisory Council is a great opportunity to help shape a critical part of that work, and to begin removing barriers to voting for people who speak languages other than English.”
To be a member of the Translation Advisory Council, a person must be qualified to be an Oregon voter, have civic service and lived experience in a community served by translated voters’ pamphlets or be proficient in English and one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mien, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, or Vietnamese.
Interested applicants should apply no later than 5:00 pm on June 1, 2022.
Additional information about the application is available on the Translation Advisory Council’s webpage: http://oregon.gov/languages
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About Secretary Shemia Fagan
Pronunciation: shuh-MEE-uh (rhymes with “Maria”) FAY-gen (rhymes with “Megan”)
Shemia Fagan is Oregon’s 28th Secretary of State. She grew up in small Oregon towns, Dufur and The Dalles, and was raised by her single dad and two older brothers. Her public service began on her local school board. She was later elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, then to the Oregon State Senate. Secretary Fagan was a civil rights attorney before being elected to Secretary of State in 2020. She stays busy keeping up with her young children, teaching her dog not to jump on people and being a fanatic for women’s basketball.
About Oregon SOS
The Oregon Secretary of State is one of three constitutional offices created at statehood. As an independent constitutional officer, the Secretary of State answers directly and solely to the people of Oregon.
Our Mission
Build trust between Oregonians and their state government so Oregonians can trust the public services and the public servants who can make a difference in their everyday lives.