![]() “If you want more people to be engaged in the democratic process, it shouldn’t be a problem in ensuring that certain communities get voter registration for them in languages that they’re able to read and understand and write,” said Shaniyat Chowdhury, a community organizer in South Jamaica, Queens, who has registered close to 100 people so far this year. Members and sponsors make THE CITY possible. ![]() Data from the 2021 American Community Survey says 3.9 million New Yorkers speak a language other than English at home, including 1.8 million people who speak English “less than very well.” Local organizers and activists, particularly those in Queens and The Bronx, say that the city can go further. Voter registration forms are available in 15 languages - English, Spanish, Korean, Bangla, Chinese, Arabic, Yiddish, Haitian Creole, Albanian, Greek, Russian, Tagalog, French and Urdu - but must be completed in English. “I can vote in America.” But the mechanics of doing so have frustrated him, he said.Īs the city’s 2023 elections get underway, eligible voters are facing language barriers in registering, advocates say. “I cannot go back to my country and vote over there,” Adhikari told THE CITY through a translator.
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