Chicago voters heading to the polls for the midterms tomorrow can cast their ballots in 12 different languages at every precinct and early voting site across the city, according to the Chicago Board of Elections.
The city is offering extensive language options, even though most naturalization cases require applicants to read, write, speak, and understand basic English, unless they qualify for medical or age exemptions.
The language options include English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, Polish, Gujarati, Urdu, Ukrainian, Arabic, and Russian.
Paper ballots in a smaller set of those languages are available by request in certain precincts that the Board has designated for limited English proficiency assistance.
The official language access page on the Board’s website confirms the full set of options and notes that bilingual poll workers are assigned in some locations for Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, and Polish.
Federal law under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act requires language assistance in certain jurisdictions for Spanish, Chinese and Hindi speakers based on population thresholds.
The Chicago Board claims it added the remaining languages to stay uniform with a Cook County ordinance so voters throughout the county have the same options.
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Bob Grogan has publicly called the expansion a solution in search of a problem and big-city virtue signaling.
In comments to Fox News, Grogan said the sheer number of translations makes it harder for election judges and party observers to monitor whether the non-English versions accurately match the English ballots, since most judges do not speak Gujarati, Urdu, Arabic, or the other less common languages.
Grogan noted that many immigrants from those communities already speak English and pointed out that English is an official language in India, the source of Gujarati and Hindi.
Foreign language ballot usage from the March primary reported by Fox showed only nine ballots cast in the English-Gujarati option, 15 in English-Urdu, 10 in English-Arabic, and 25 each in English-Russian and English-Ukrainian.
Higher numbers appeared for more established languages: 4,474 English-Polish, 2,183 English-Chinese, and 664 English-Hindi.
Overall, multilingual ballots made up about 1.85 percent of ballots cast citywide.
Grogan argues that even a small number of ballots in an obscure language creates a verification vulnerability, and that the risk grows if volume increases.
Riddle me this…Ballots in Chicago are being printed and offered in 12 different languages including…Gujarati, Urdu, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Arabic and Russian and it’s available on touchscreen machines at every polling place.
Citizenship is a LEGAL requirement to vote and naturalization normally requires demonstrating the ability to read, write and speak English.
So how are large numbers of people becoming citizens without functional English proficiency and why are taxpayers funding ballots in languages most election judges and observers can’t even verify for accuracy?
There something else going on here that voters deserve to know. This is election fraud in a blue state.
— American Alpha (@AmericanAlphaX) November 2, 2026
Naturalization applicants must generally demonstrate the ability to read, write, and speak basic English, and they must pass a civics test.
USCIS policy provides clear exceptions for applicants who are 50 or older and have been permanent residents for at least 20 years (the 50/20 rule), or 55 or older with 15 years of residency (the 55/15 rule), are exempt from the English requirement and may take the civics test in their native language with an interpreter they provide.
A separate medical disability waiver on Form N-648 can also excuse the English and civics tests for applicants whose physical or mental condition prevents them from learning the material.
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