22nd
Chinese Americans See Progress in New York Democracy
A story in the Sunday New York Times this past weekend reported on the progress that Chinese Americans, who turned out in great numbers in this past Democratic Primary Election, have seen in recent times.
In particular, the story details Chinese Americans’ struggles in being able to read the ballots on election day. Despite having been a part of this city for hundreds of years, Chinese voters would struggle to figure out the English spelling of the candidate of their choice at voting booths until recently. These voters would sneak in translation guides with them into the booths so they could decipher a candidates’ name one letter at a time, then figure out which one is the candidate they came into the booth to vote for.
The article goes on to talk about how the Board of Elections, in the 1990’s, outright rejected Chinese American voters’ petition to include Chinese translation of the English spelling of candidates.
In 1993, however, the Justice Department ruled that the board was violating the law. Still, despite this ruling, the board didn’t grant the voters’ wishes, saying this was “not humanly possible” and that they just best wait for the city to have electronic booths. But with the help of a printer and a graphic designer, the voters showed the incompetent board the solution to their problem. Now, Chinese Americans no longer have to sneak in translation guides and take the time to decipher a candidate’s spelling.
Before the change, no Chinese Americans had ever been elected to City Council or any office of importance in the city of New York. Last week, two Chinese American candidates won Democratic primaries in their respective races for City Council.
Christopher Brodeur votes in his district in Chinatown during the 2005 mayoral election, as seen in The Promise of New York. The sign to his left is another indication of the progress Asian American voters have seen in the city’s democracy.
