The order, by U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess, applies to state-run elections through the November general election and is a temporary order until a court case about Yup'ik voting in Bethel is resolved.

It does not say all election materials should be translated, only some that will aid special poll workers in providing accurate oral translations.

The order was in response to a Voting Rights Act lawsuit filed by four Yup'ik elders and four tribal councils in Western Alaska against the state and the city of Bethel. The lawsuit says Yup'ik-only speakers have been treated unfairly by the state division of elections.

The ruling requires bilingual translators at polling stations, pre-election announcements in Yup'ik saying bilingual translators will be available, and sample ballots written in Yup'ik so translators can accurately read the often-complicated ballots to voters.

Natalie Landreth, an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, said there are about 10,000 Yup'ik speakers in the Bethel census area. About 4,000 of them don't speak English well enough to understand a ballot, she said.

The order also says the state must provide reports to the court demonstrating that it is complying.

"The elders are thrilled today," Landreth said.

Jason Brandeis, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, which is also representing the elders and tribal councils, said: "It is time to turn the page on the discriminatory practices of the past and fully allow Yup'ik voters and other Alaskan Natives the right to be included in the political process."

Assistant Attorney General Sarah Felix, who represents the state in the continuing lawsuit, said the state has been working on improving its language-assistance programs and was already planning on providing much of what the order requires.

Landreth says the state only took action after the suit was filed. "Unless you hold their feet to the fire, they aren't going to implement this."

Burgess still has to rule on whether he will require the city of Bethel to do the same in municipal elections.

The elders and tribal councils want more materials to be translated into Yup'ik, including voter registrations, absentee ballots and candidate statements.

Find Megan Holland online at adn.com/contact/mholland or call 257-4343.