FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-, March 17, 2026
CONTACT: Grace Pai – gpai@advancingjustice-chicago.org, 224-289-5291
CHICAGO, IL (March 17, 2026) – Today, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago (“Advancing Justice | Chicago”) dispatched 33 nonpartisan poll watchers to 215 voting locations across Chicago and suburban Cook County, ensuring widespread monitoring of language access across the region. Poll watchers overwhelmingly reported smooth and uneventful election operations, although challenges persist with bilingual election judge recruitment, particularly in suburban Cook County.
Advancing Justice | Chicago’s poll watching program primarily focuses on language access in elections. Historically, immigrant and limited English proficient voters have faced many barriers to exercising their right to vote, including lack of translated information, discriminatory voting restrictions, such as literacy tests, and outright intimidation or harassment.
This year, poll watchers observed 100% of Asian “designated language precincts,” which are precincts where election authorities are required to provide translation and interpretation resources under the federal Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) or the Cook County Voting Opportunity and Translation Equity Ordinance (“VOTE Ordinance”). The following Asian language groups are covered under the VRA and/or the VOTE Ordinance: Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese), South Asian (including Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu), Korean, and Tagalog.
“Thanks to our poll watchers, we can identify issues in real time and help ensure timely resolutions, rather than only reporting on areas for improvement after the fact,” said Grace Pai, Executive Director of Advancing Justice | Chicago.
In one instance, Advancing Justice | Chicago worked with the Chicago Board of Elections to quickly assign a Chinese bilingual election judge to a precinct in the 11th Ward that lacked one. This level of coverage and responsiveness demonstrates the critical role of community-based, nonpartisan election protection programs in ensuring compliance with the Voting Rights Act and local ordinances.
However, not all issues are resolved on Election Day. Preliminary data show that nearly 62% of designated Asian language precincts in suburban Cook County lacked at least one required bilingual election judge. Improving suburban bilingual judge recruitment will be critical for future election cycles. In Chicago, one poll watcher spoke with election judges who spent all day calling the Election Central hotline for Cantonese interpretation because a replacement bilingual election judge could not be dispatched to their precinct. These examples demonstrate continued room for improvement to ensure language accessibility for all voters.
Due to the Asian American community’s diverse language needs, Advancing Justice | Chicago advocates year-round for expanded language access in elections. This advocacy has resulted in concrete changes, such as new polling place signage in Chicago that rolled out in 2024, and increased collaboration between community organizations and local election authorities.
Over the next couple of months, Advancing Justice | Chicago will compile observations from Election Day into a report and provide recommendations for improvement to the Chicago Board of Elections and the Cook County Clerk. We look forward to partnering to strengthen our democracy and ensure all eligible voters can exercise their right to vote.
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. Learn more at www.advancingjustice-chicago.org.
In the lead up to each election, Advancing Justice | Chicago collaborates with a number of organizations on language access advocacy, including the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment, Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, HANA Center, Indo-American Center, Latino Policy Forum, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the South Asian American Policy and Research Institute (SAAPRI).