Voter registration forms now in five new languages

The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs has announced the launch of voter registration forms in five new languages.

The move was announced at a press conference at Brooklyn’s Homecrest Library on Thursday, July 14, which was attended by community organizations and local elected officials.

Voter registration forms will now be translated into Russian, Urdu, Haitian Creole, French and Arabic. Previously, the forms were available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Bangla.

“This is New York, where our citizens live, work, pay taxes and, yes, have the right to vote,” said Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz. “It is a civic responsibility that our immigrants are eager to fulfill but often the language barrier makes it impossible. They see their neighbors voting — but they can’t read the ballot. Or they want to register to vote – but they can’t read the form. These are basic freedoms that they’re being denied.”

The new forms will be available on the Campaign Finance Board website, which is also found on the homepage of NYC.gov under “Register to Vote.”