I was rather floored to come across this New Jersey statute:

19:6-1. Membership
The district boards in each election district shall consist of four members, except that where electronic voting systems are in use any election district in which there are more than 900 registered voters the district board shall consist of six members. The members shall be appointed by the county board of the county in which such election district is located, in the manner hereinafter provided.

In election districts in which the primary language of 10% or more of the registered voters is Spanish, the county board shall appoint two additional members who shall be of Hispanic origin and fluent in Spanish.

Amended by L.1974, c. 30, s. 1; L.1975, c. 316, s. 3, eff. Feb. 19, 1976.


While I can see the reasoning behind requiring officials to speak the language of the voters why is only Spanish specified? Shouldn't speakers of Hindi, Mandarin, or any non-English language also be required? Why are Spanish speakers singled out for special treatment? It also seems to be that having an ethnic requirement for any public job is not only repugnant to American values but a violation of Article 1 Section 4 of the New Jersey Constitution:

4. There shall be no establishment of one religious sect in preference to another; no religious or racial test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust.