By The Associated Press
Voters in Queens must have access to Korean translations under a justice department decision handed down Friday. The change came as a result of 2000 census data, which shows a surging Korean population in the borough. This is the first time Koreans will be mandated.
New York remains to be the only state on the East Coast that requires language assistance in any Asian language. The Voting Rights Act mandates that covered jurisdictions must provide translated voting materials — ballots, voter registration forms, voting instructions and interpreters — to ensure access to the vote for language minorities.
“We are thrilled by the new jurisdictions and languages. Many more Asian Americans will be able to fully participate in the electoral franchise,” said Glenn Magpantay of the New York City-based Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).
AALDEF has been urging for expanded language assistance, particularly in Korean, since the early 1990s. The inclusion of Korean was a major victory for the group.
“Our efforts now turn on compliance as the New York City Board of Elections prepares for the upcoming elections,” Magpantay continued.
But city election officials say full translations may not be available in time for fall elections, which include the governor’s race.
Virginia Busti, spokeswoman for the city Board of Elections, said everything but the ballots had already been translated into Korean in anticipation of the decision. But she said it was unclear if those would be available in time for the state’s Sept. 10 primary or the Nov. 5 general election.
According to AALDEF, in the past, Chinese language assistance has been poor. For instance, in 2000, some ballots flipped the translated party headings, so Democrats were listed as Republicans and vice versa. In those and other elections, there were too few interpreters and translated materials were unavailable or hidden.
As detailed in their report, Asian American Access to Democracy in the NYC 2001 Elections, the group found that, like many minority voters in Florida, during the 2000 and 2001 elections in New York, APA voters had to overcome several obstacles to cast their votes. AALDEF will continue to monitor the elections for compliance with the Voting Rights Act to preserve Asian American access to the vote.
Ballots have already been translated into Chinese in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Spanish language ballots are also available.
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