Local

Language in Secretary of State's race: Is the Spanish to English translation correct?

At issue is the last line. In English “not under Department of Corrections supervision for a Washington State felony conviction.”

This afternoon, the Democrat running for Secretary of State tweeted that the Spanish translation of the voter qualifications does not match the English.

At issue is the last line. In English “not under Department of Corrections supervision for a Washington State felony conviction.” In Spanish, “no estar bajo la supervision del Departamento Correccional a causa de una condena por un delito del estado de Washington.”

The question is whether the Spanish translation identifies correctly the word “felony.”

The corresponding word in the Spanish translation is “delito” which means “crime” and not “felony.” (

.)

KIRO 7 talked to a translator at the Academy of Languages in Seattle who consulted a colleague who works on translating legal documents. She said that the translation is mostly correct. But, it would have been clearer to say “delito mayor” which would translate to “major crime” since the word felony doesn’t exist in Mexico’s justice system.

We also wondered if it was even possible to be under Department of Correction supervision if someone hasn’t committed a felony. The DOC says, yes, in fact there are a small number of people under supervision for misdemeanors.

Trending from KIRO 7 News