This Day in History: 0000-08-08
August 6, 1975- “Voting Rights Act of 1975 Requires Bilingual Ballots” “In 1975, Congress made major amendments to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Civil rights organizations that represented Hispanic, Asian American, Native Alaskan and Native American interests successfully argued before Congress that such groups were victims of discriminatory voting practices, particularly in places where English was not the dominant language. This prompted Congress to amend the Voting Rights Act to
require voting districts carry bilingual ballots in certain areas of the country.”
November 5, 1996 - "Gary Locke Elected to Washington State Governorship"
Gary Locke became the first Asian American elected governor of a mainland state when he won the governorship by a wide margin. Locke's success in raising the state's educational standards and balancing its budget led to a landslide victory for a second term in 2000. He decided not to run for a third term because he wanted to spend more time with his two young children, but was chosen to deliver the Democratic rebuttal to President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address in 2004.