New York City is known for its diversity, with over 500 languages spoken, as reported by the Department of City Planning. Despite this rich mix, ballot papers for the recent U.S. presidential election included only four languages apart from English, with Bengali being the only Indian language among them.
The U.S. voted two days ago, on November 5, to elect its 47th President. Micheal J Ryan, Executive Director of New York City’s Board of Elections, explained the language support offered: “We were required to service four other languages besides English. It is Chinese, Spanish, Korean, and Bengali as the Asian languages.” This decision means that Bengali-speaking voters can access important language support when they vote.
Subhshesh, a Bengali-speaking New Yorker working in Times Square, said his father, who lives in Queens, benefited from this support. He explained, “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.”
This inclusion of Bengali isn’t only for convenience; it’s a legal requirement. New York City is obligated to provide voting materials in Bengali at specific polling stations. This includes not just ballot papers but also other voting resources to help Bengali speakers have a smooth voting experience.
Ryan shared the background on why Bengali was chosen, saying, “There was a lawsuit about language access... the settlement of that lawsuit required within a certain population density to have an Asian Indian language. Then through some negotiations, they settled on Bengali. I understand the limitations of Bengali being the choice but it came out of a lawsuit.”
The Bengali-language ballots first appeared in Queens in 2013, following a federal requirement under the 1965 Voting Rights Act to provide language assistance for South Asian minorities. New York’s Bengali-speaking community includes people from India and Bangladesh. While Bengali doesn’t represent all South Asian languages, this support is expected to encourage more Bengali speakers to vote.
This move reflects the growing recognition of the diversity within immigrant communities and underscores the importance of ensuring that every eligible voter has the ability to participate fully in the democratic process, regardless of language barriers. By making voting more accessible to non-English speakers, New York City continues to set an example of inclusivity for other metropolitan areas across the country.
(This story has been slightly reworked from an auto-generated PTI feed.)
