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A recently released report by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) on the New York City mayoral and City Council elections of 2001, says that there were several instances where Asian American voters faced hostile election workers and discrimination.
According to the report, AALDEF monitored 35 polling sites during the rescheduled primary, runoff and general election of 2001 and found that problems encountered earlier remained. These included numerous omissions of Asian voters names from the list of registered voters and Chinese characters printed so small that they were unreadable.
The report said new problems that surfaced included poll workers seeking identification of Asian voters, poll workers who obstructed language assistance, confusion over polling site locations and police interference in election administration.
Additionally, the report said, Korean-American voters also encountered barriers to language assistance and unequal treatment. These problems resulted in numerous Asian American voters losing their right to vote.
The 35 polling sites inspected by the AALDEF team were in the Manhattan Chinatown, in QueensFlushing, Elmhurst, Floral Park and Richmond Hill, (Queens), and in BrooklynSunset Park and Homecrest.
Here are some of the findings and observations of the team, as listed in the report. Numerous Asian voters names were missing from the list of registered voters, resulting in voters being turned away when affidavit ballots were not offered.
Second, poll workers obstructed the right to vote by exhibiting hostility toward Asian voters, requiring identifications, or being unfamiliar with election procedures.
Third, Chinese-language assistance was thwarted due to problems with Chinese-interpreter training, poll workers who interfered or would not allow interpreters to assist voters, poll workers who disregarded translated materials, and Chinese characters on ballots being too small to read.
Fourth, Korean-American voters in Flushing experienced a host of discriminatory barriers, including a shortage of Korean interpreters, poll worker obstruction of language assistance, and unequal treatment by poll workers.
Fifth, there were other problems such as confusion over polling sites in Chinatown, broken voting machines and undue police involvement in election administration.
The AALDEF report observed that these problems resulted in denying Asian Americans their right to vote. Glenn D. Magpantay, a staff attorney with AALDEF, told Desi-Talk that there were many instances of discrimination against South-Asian and Indian-American voters.
While the problems with Chinese and Korean voters were related to language, South Asian voters complained that they were being treated differently, like they were asked to produce identification papers when they are not required to do so by law. The problems faced by the Asian-American voters, including Indians, Chinese and Koreans were because they were foreign-born and are immigrants, he said.
The report listed some instances of discrimination against South-Asian voters. At Newtown High School in Elmhurst, a voter complained that a certain poll inspector at ED37/AD34 was not only hostile, but also would not give affidavit ballots to Asian voters who were not listed in the book. Similarly, At P.S. 20 in Flushing, 43 voters described poll workers as hostile. We also observed that the attitude of poll inspectors toward Asian and white voters differed.
Poll inspectors were less polite and occasionally curt toward Asian voters and were cheerful and accommodating toward white voters, the report said. At a polling site in Richmond Hill, where voters were mostly Indians and Indo-Caribbeans, poll inspectors made improper demands for identification of Asian voters, the report said. Indian-American voters in Floral Park also faced a similar problem. In all, during the general election, nearly 350 Asian voters reported that identification was required of them.
At J.H.S. 189 in Flushing, a voter reported that the poll inspectors ignored him, even though he was standing in front of them, and that one elderly woman poll inspector was sleeping. Similarly, At P.S. 55 in Richmond Hill at ED 49/AD32, a South Asian voter complained that the inspector told him to pull the vote-casting lever too early, so he lost some of his votes. Likewise, At St. Pauls Church in Richmond Hill, voters commented that poll workers dont know their job(s) and exhibited poor behavior. One voter complained that poll workers talked about him while he was completing a paper ballot.
According to the report, at P.S. 55 in Richmond Hill, a police officer threatened to arrest a frustrated South Asian voter who had been erroneously shuttled among several different polling sites to vote.
The report made recommendations as well as complained to the Board of Elections of the City of New York regarding some of the instances of discrimination. On the basis of our complaints, the services of six poll inspectors were terminated and another 20 of them were issued letters of reprimand, said Magpantay.
Apart from demanding that hostile or discriminatory poll workers be reprimanded and removed from their posts, the AALDEF report concluded that poll inspectors need better training in affidavit ballot procedures, voters rights to language assistance, and the boards own language assistance program.
Among the other recommendations of the AALDEF report are:
Enlarging Chinese characters on the ballot by using a large Chinese-language font size. The board explore ways to remedy the problem that Asian voters names are missing from the list of registered voters.
The board provide Korean interpreters and translated ballots, voter registration forms and voting machine instruction signs.
The board must better inform the public, particularly non-English-speaking voters, about polling site changes.
The board must inform the New York Police Department supervisors about the proper role of police officers on election day.
With reference to the voting rights of Asian Americans, AALDEF, in a separate press statement, said that the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have passed election reform bills, which are now before a House/Senate Conference Committee, whose members will reconcile the differences and produce a final bill.
With regard to the provisions of the bill, the AALDEF has opposed the requirement for first-time voters to provide identification.
This provision will have a chilling effect on eligible voters who are newly naturalized, young, minority, and limited English-proficient. The ID check could also lead to discriminatory enforcement and violate the privacy of voters. A signature or attestation is already used in many localities to deter fraud. The ID check will just create another barrier to registering to vote, the AALDEF statement said. The AALDEF has also called for supporting expanded access to the vote for limited-English proficient voters.
It has also supported those provisions in the bill that will improve the administration of elections, and has sought provision of matching funds for states to buy new voting machines as well as setting minimum standards to prevent under-voting or over-voting on machines.
<i>Are you registered to vote?</i>
This years primary elections will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5. To vote in primary and general elections, you must register by Aug. 16. To vote in this years general election only, you must register by Oct. 11. In New York City, call toll-free 1-800-VOTE-NYC. Or visit the <a href=http://vote.ny.us Board of Elections website.</a>Outside the City of New York, call your county election office or log on to <a href=www.elections.state.ny.us> www.elections.state.ny.us</a>. There is no need to register again, if you are registered already.
According to the report, AALDEF monitored 35 polling sites during the rescheduled primary, runoff and general election of 2001 and found that problems encountered earlier remained. These included numerous omissions of Asian voters names from the list of registered voters and Chinese characters printed so small that they were unreadable.
The report said new problems that surfaced included poll workers seeking identification of Asian voters, poll workers who obstructed language assistance, confusion over polling site locations and police interference in election administration.
Additionally, the report said, Korean-American voters also encountered barriers to language assistance and unequal treatment. These problems resulted in numerous Asian American voters losing their right to vote.
The 35 polling sites inspected by the AALDEF team were in the Manhattan Chinatown, in QueensFlushing, Elmhurst, Floral Park and Richmond Hill, (Queens), and in BrooklynSunset Park and Homecrest.
Here are some of the findings and observations of the team, as listed in the report. Numerous Asian voters names were missing from the list of registered voters, resulting in voters being turned away when affidavit ballots were not offered.
Second, poll workers obstructed the right to vote by exhibiting hostility toward Asian voters, requiring identifications, or being unfamiliar with election procedures.
Third, Chinese-language assistance was thwarted due to problems with Chinese-interpreter training, poll workers who interfered or would not allow interpreters to assist voters, poll workers who disregarded translated materials, and Chinese characters on ballots being too small to read.
Fourth, Korean-American voters in Flushing experienced a host of discriminatory barriers, including a shortage of Korean interpreters, poll worker obstruction of language assistance, and unequal treatment by poll workers.
Fifth, there were other problems such as confusion over polling sites in Chinatown, broken voting machines and undue police involvement in election administration.
The AALDEF report observed that these problems resulted in denying Asian Americans their right to vote. Glenn D. Magpantay, a staff attorney with AALDEF, told Desi-Talk that there were many instances of discrimination against South-Asian and Indian-American voters.
While the problems with Chinese and Korean voters were related to language, South Asian voters complained that they were being treated differently, like they were asked to produce identification papers when they are not required to do so by law. The problems faced by the Asian-American voters, including Indians, Chinese and Koreans were because they were foreign-born and are immigrants, he said.
The report listed some instances of discrimination against South-Asian voters. At Newtown High School in Elmhurst, a voter complained that a certain poll inspector at ED37/AD34 was not only hostile, but also would not give affidavit ballots to Asian voters who were not listed in the book. Similarly, At P.S. 20 in Flushing, 43 voters described poll workers as hostile. We also observed that the attitude of poll inspectors toward Asian and white voters differed.
Poll inspectors were less polite and occasionally curt toward Asian voters and were cheerful and accommodating toward white voters, the report said. At a polling site in Richmond Hill, where voters were mostly Indians and Indo-Caribbeans, poll inspectors made improper demands for identification of Asian voters, the report said. Indian-American voters in Floral Park also faced a similar problem. In all, during the general election, nearly 350 Asian voters reported that identification was required of them.
At J.H.S. 189 in Flushing, a voter reported that the poll inspectors ignored him, even though he was standing in front of them, and that one elderly woman poll inspector was sleeping. Similarly, At P.S. 55 in Richmond Hill at ED 49/AD32, a South Asian voter complained that the inspector told him to pull the vote-casting lever too early, so he lost some of his votes. Likewise, At St. Pauls Church in Richmond Hill, voters commented that poll workers dont know their job(s) and exhibited poor behavior. One voter complained that poll workers talked about him while he was completing a paper ballot.
According to the report, at P.S. 55 in Richmond Hill, a police officer threatened to arrest a frustrated South Asian voter who had been erroneously shuttled among several different polling sites to vote.
The report made recommendations as well as complained to the Board of Elections of the City of New York regarding some of the instances of discrimination. On the basis of our complaints, the services of six poll inspectors were terminated and another 20 of them were issued letters of reprimand, said Magpantay.
Apart from demanding that hostile or discriminatory poll workers be reprimanded and removed from their posts, the AALDEF report concluded that poll inspectors need better training in affidavit ballot procedures, voters rights to language assistance, and the boards own language assistance program.
Among the other recommendations of the AALDEF report are:
Enlarging Chinese characters on the ballot by using a large Chinese-language font size. The board explore ways to remedy the problem that Asian voters names are missing from the list of registered voters.
The board provide Korean interpreters and translated ballots, voter registration forms and voting machine instruction signs.
The board must better inform the public, particularly non-English-speaking voters, about polling site changes.
The board must inform the New York Police Department supervisors about the proper role of police officers on election day.
With reference to the voting rights of Asian Americans, AALDEF, in a separate press statement, said that the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have passed election reform bills, which are now before a House/Senate Conference Committee, whose members will reconcile the differences and produce a final bill.
With regard to the provisions of the bill, the AALDEF has opposed the requirement for first-time voters to provide identification.
This provision will have a chilling effect on eligible voters who are newly naturalized, young, minority, and limited English-proficient. The ID check could also lead to discriminatory enforcement and violate the privacy of voters. A signature or attestation is already used in many localities to deter fraud. The ID check will just create another barrier to registering to vote, the AALDEF statement said. The AALDEF has also called for supporting expanded access to the vote for limited-English proficient voters.
It has also supported those provisions in the bill that will improve the administration of elections, and has sought provision of matching funds for states to buy new voting machines as well as setting minimum standards to prevent under-voting or over-voting on machines.
<i>Are you registered to vote?</i>
This years primary elections will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5. To vote in primary and general elections, you must register by Aug. 16. To vote in this years general election only, you must register by Oct. 11. In New York City, call toll-free 1-800-VOTE-NYC. Or visit the <a href=http://vote.ny.us Board of Elections website.</a>Outside the City of New York, call your county election office or log on to <a href=www.elections.state.ny.us> www.elections.state.ny.us</a>. There is no need to register again, if you are registered already.