Official English Legislation Favored by Majority of Pennsylvanians

More than three-in-four Keystone State voters support policy, according to poll

77 percent of likely voters in Pennsylvania favor making English the made the official language of the state, according to a poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc., including 63 percent who strongly support such an effort. The survey found that the overwhelming majority of Pennsylvania residents want the state to conduct business in English, including strong majorities within each political party and each section of the state. The survey of 625 likely voters was conducted Sept. 22-26, 2006 and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percent.

“From the first Continental Congress to the melting pot of the early 20th century, Pennsylvanians have always come together under one common language, English,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English, Inc. “As we continue another era of immigration to the United States, the Keystone State must rely on the unifying bond of English as the key component in the assimilation process.”

Legislation to make English the official language of Pennsylvania sailed through the House of Representatives in the Keystone State in June. The chamber’s 122-70 vote on the bill sent the measure to the Senate, which has yet to act upon it. The House passage of the measure marked the furthest advancement ever of an official English bill in Pennsylvania.

Making English the official language of a state calls upon the government to conduct business in English and limit governmental multilingualism to common-sense exceptions such as health care, public safety, judicial proceedings and tourism. To date, 27 states have English as their official language, and H.R. 997, Congressional legislation promoting this policy at the federal level, has become one of the most widely supported bills in the 109th Congress.

“The Pennsylvania legislature’s passage of an official English bill was clearly in step with the will of the people,” added Mujica. “The next step is for the Senate and the governor to listen to their constituents and adopt a common language policy for the state. I look forward to working with these legislators to accomplish this goal in the coming months.”

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.