The government has largely failed to protect the voting rights of Arab Americans and the larger MENA community. Data on Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) communities, including Arab Americans, is included under the “White” category and not counted on its own. This is according to the standards set by Statistical Policy Directive 15 (Directive 15). Federal data is necessary to enforce civil rights protections, like the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965, which gives people the right to be free from voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. In addition, MENA languages, such as Arabic, are not considered a “language minority group,” meaning our communities are excluded from many election protections, including access to in-language materials.
Without equitable data and an amendment to the VRA, our communities will continue to be disenfranchised through partial redistricting practices, surveillance at the polls, limited legal support, and little to no access to in-language voter materials.
Last year, NNAAC members in 12 different states engaged with over 1,050,000 Arab Americans to familiarize them with the voter registration process. Right now, NNAAC is working to introduce federal voting rights legislation such as the Arab American Voting Rights Act, which will enhance language access at the polls, protections from voter dilution, and federal monitoring of discrimination.
Federal
Local/ State