Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read is encouraging Oregonians to apply to serve on the Translation Advisory Council (TAC). The Council needs members who can read and write in Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Spanish, Somali, and Vietnamese.
“In Oregon, we take pride in running secure, fair, and accessible elections,” said Secretary of State Tobias Read. “Serving on the Translation Advisory Council is an important and rewarding opportunity to help keep our elections accessible to everyone who is eligible to vote.”
While there is no firm deadline, for the most competitive consideration for current vacancies, anyone who is interested should apply no later than June 30th to begin serving August 1st.
The TAC was established in 2022 via House Bill 3021 to guide the Secretary’s work of translating voters’ pamphlets for each election. Members of the TAC spend time before each election reviewing translated voters’ pamphlets to ensure both the accuracy of translations and that they are culturally appropriate for eligible voters who have limited English proficiency.
To be a member of the TAC, a person must be a resident of Oregon and have civic service and lived experience in a community served by translated voters’ pamphlets. Applicants must also be proficient in English and one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Iu Mien, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Marshallese, Nepali, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Ukrainian, or Vietnamese.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, meaning an interested person with proficiency in any of the identified languages should feel free to apply. The current need is for those who speak Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Spanish, Somali, and Vietnamese. Applications can be submitted online.
There is no deadline to apply; applications are kept on file and may be used in selecting members for future vacancies.
