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From the office of Senator Charles Schumer of New York. Schumer says, "Asian Communities in New York City and Across The Country Must be Provided the Same Access to Democracy As Everyone Else"
Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, urged the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to move quickly and finalize and release the translation of the Federal Mail-In Voter Registration Form into the Asian languages required by the Voting Rights Act. With only months until the start of the 2010 federal primaries, Asian-language jurisdictions covered by the law must be afforded the same access to registering to vote as Spanish-speaking voters already have. Schumer wants to ensure that the federal form is available to all eligible voters in a readily understandable format.
“The Asian community is an integral part of New York City and must be afforded the same access to democracy as everyone else,” Schumer said. “The fact that the EAC has yet to translate these important voter registration forms into various Asian languages is not only unfair to those unable to read English, but it is a slap in the face to our voting process. I truly hope the EAC hears my calls so the Asian community in New York and across the nation is justly represented.”
This would not be a new translation. The Federal Election Commission routinely translated the federal voter registration form into the required Spanish and Asian languages in the mid-1990’s. However, the Help America Vote Act in 2002 changed some content in the national voter registration form, making prior translations of the form obsolete. The EAC released its Spanish-language translation of the form in January of 2006, and the Asian-language translations are long overdue.
Last year, the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration staff received a complaint from Asian-American advocacy organizations because the Asian-language form would not be ready for the 2008 election. The EAC’s response, almost a year ago, indicated that the agency would work to research and translate the form. It is important for the EAC to work with the representatives of the affected communities, and there has been ample opportunity and time to do so since the creation of the EAC almost six years ago.
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He's not being specific on which languages. Chinese and Korean materials are already avaiable in New York City. Is this an actual bill or lip service?
What Sen. Schumer is addressing is an already existing requirement under the Voting Rights Act. As the article discusses, these are actually updates of previously translated materials made necessary by changes under HAVA. The languages are already designated by the VRA, which uses a formula based on local language populations to determine in which languages materials must be available. In other words, there isn't any new bill or change to the law; Schumer is just pushing the EAC to implement the already mandated changes. It's not uncommon for new or amended laws to take some time for implementation; for example, the U Visa program for victims of violent crime and trafficking existed in law for several years before DHS finalized the regulations implementing the program.
Calvin, you're probably thinking of VRA requirements imposed on local jurisdictions. Translation of locally specific voting materials is done by local governments (and state-specific by state), based again on their local language needs under the VRA formula. Again, not all jursidictions comply with these requirements, so it's something people have to stay on top of. The reason Schumer is pushing the EAC in this case is because it's federal materials that the EAC is responsible for providing to local governments.
Thanks for clearing that up! I guess I thought it was strange that he was talking about "Asian communities in NYC" when those areas have been compliant with those materials for a long time.
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