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Landslide Victory for Official English in Arizona

      By a stunning 3-1 landslide vote, 74-26 percent, Arizona's voters overwhelmingly passed an amendment to their state constitution declaring English the state's official language and making Arizona the 28th state with English as its official language.
      The vote was a resounding victory for State Representative Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) who pushed the referendum through the legislature over the opposition of Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano in order to put the measure before the voters this November.
      The amendment specifies that all official actions of the state must be conducted in English, and bars discrimination against English speakers. It has common sense exceptions protecting the use of other languages in private speech, and for government use in emergencies, trade, education, and law enforcement.
      Arizona passed official English once before, in 1988, through a citizen's initiative campaign organized and led by ProEnglish Chairman Bob Park. When state officials refused to defend the law in court, Park and other ProEnglish board members founded ProEnglish to carry on the fight. A ten-year long legal battle resulted in a victory when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Arizona law.
      But the victory proved short-lived because the law was challenged in state court and later overturned by the Arizona Supreme Court which cited specific provisions as violating the state's constitution. These objections were incorporated in the amendment that passed this Nov.
      ProEnglish Chairman Bob Park praised Rep. Pearce for his determination and leadership. "I think even Rep. Pearce was surprised by the lopsided vote in favor of Proposition 103. Not only has be performed a great service to the people of Arizona by allowing their voice to be heard on this important question, but he also has given a huge boost to those of us working at the national level to make English our official language," Park said.

Read also:
ProEnglish Press Release
Washington Times/UPI news article
Bill Language, official summary, and official election arguments for and against.
ProEnglish's Official English page
Official English laws and demographics in the 50 states