HispanicBusiness

A candidate can be struck from the ballot for not speaking English well enough, the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled.

Alejandrina Cabrera had been barred from the city council race in San Luis by a judge in Yuma County Superior Court, according to a Reuters report. The Arizona Supreme Court upheld the decision in a two-page ruling.

The county judge had cited a "large gap" in Cabrera's ability to speak English and the level of English proficiency necessary to perform the duties of office.

The town of San Luis, Ariz., sits on the U.S.-Mexico border opposite the town of San Luis Rio Colorado in the Mexican state of Sonora. The Arizona town has a population of about 25,000. The Mexican city has a population of about 200,000.

Many who live there consider the two to be the same community, according to the Reuters report. A steel fence divides the two municipalities.