The highly anticipated United States US) Presidential Elections 2024 has been recently igniting curiosity over the opted languages in the Ballot papers. In the New York city of America, where over 200 languages are spoken, only five languages apart from English, will be there in the ballot.
Interestingly, one Indian language has also made its ways onto the New York Ballot this time and guess what, it’s not the India’s official language, Hindi. But Bengali has made its way out to feature in the city’s 2024 US Presidential election ballots. It will be included alongside, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and English.
Notably, this decision came out following a lawsuit settlement that led to the inclusion of Bengali on to the ballot. The 47th Presidential elections are being held in the country on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at 6 pm (local time across the country).
Michael J Ryan, the Executive Director, Board of Elections in NYC said, “We are required to service four other languages besides English. It is Chinese, Spanish, Korean and Bengali as the Asian languages.”
About the Inclusion
Meanwhile, the inclusion of the language in the New York city ballot is not just a courtesy. It was a legal requirement. The New York city is providing voting materials in Bengali at some polling places. The language is not just featured in the Ballot papers but also on other important voting materials, ensuring a comprehensive language support to the Bengali speaking voters.
Michael J Ryan explained the reason, why the Bengali language is being chosen in the list. He told, “There was a lawsuit about language access and as you know the country of India has a lot of different languages within it. The settlement of that lawsuit required within a certain population density to have an Asian India language. Then through some negotiations, they settled on Bengali. I understand the limitations of Bengali being said the choice but came out of a lawsuit.”
The inclusion of the Bengali language is significant for the South Asian Community in the New York. The language is spoken by people from India and Bangladesh. This move has been taken to encourage the voter’s participation within the Bengali community.
Voting Rights Act 1965 in US
As per the sources, the first time New York ballots were found translated into Bengali was in 2013. The addition of the Bengali-language ballots came nearly after the two years, the federal government has ordered the city to provide assistance to the South Asian minority groups. This has been done under the provision of 1965 voting rights act in US.
This act aimed to eliminate racial discrimination in voting. It was signed by President Lyndon B Johnson on August 6, 1965. It eliminated the barriers related to literacy tests and discrimination from the voting system.
Encourage South Asian Communities to Vote
Additionally, this move has been commended by Dr Avinash Gupta, President of the Federation of Indian Association. He said that it will help the Indian community and encourage them to go out and vote.
“It will help the Indian population to go out and vote. That is how we can get our voices heard. We are a sizable population. It is heartening to see how Indians go out and vote and even contest elections,” he added.
About US Presidential Elections 2024
The 2024 US Presidential Elections are taking place today. Voters across the country are heading to the polls to choose their next President and Vice President of the United States.
The election will witness a clash between Kamala Harris for the Democratic Party with running mate Tim Walz and Donald Trump for the Republican Party. He will be contesting with his running mate JD Vance.
Kanishka Malhotra is a seasoned journalist with a deep passion for reporting and uncovering the truth. With a specialization in research and investigative Journalism, she has covered wide range of topics related to social issues, travel, lifestyle, technology, Entertainment and much more. She believes to express and share her creativity to the world through words. With relentless pursuit of knowing and uncovering the truth, Kanishka continues to leave a mark in the world of journalism.
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