Bengali only Indian language on New York’s ballot papers
The Hindu
New York City includes Bengali on ballot papers to ensure language access and voter participation for South Asian minorities.
More than 200 languages are spoken in New York, according to the Department of City Planning, backing the claim of it being the melting pot of America. However, the ballot papers in the U.S. presidential elections will have only four other languages apart from English.
And guess what? Bengali represents the Indian languages in this list.
The U.S. will on Tuesday (November 5, 2024) vote to elect its 47th President.
“We are required to service four other languages besides English. It is Chinese, Spanish, Korean and Bengali as the Asian languages," says Micheal J Ryan, Executive Director, Board of Elections, NYC.
Subhshesh, who works as a sales agent in a store in Times Square, has Bengali roots. He is happy that his father living in the Queens area will get linguistic assistance when he goes to cast his vote.
“People like me know English but there are many in our community who are comfortable in the native language. This helps them at the polling station. I am sure my father will like the idea of seeing a Bengali language ballot paper," says Subhshesh.
The inclusion of Bengali on ballot papers is not just a courtesy but a legal requirement.
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