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Letters Online: Patriot Ledger readers sound off

Uploaded by: patriotledger
Video Description:
This is the first edition of our online letters to the editor, and here's the story that got these readers to call in.
Quincy's Asians wait for bilingual ballots By DIANA SCHOBERG, The Patriot Ledger QUINCY -- The city has avoided the sticky debate over whether to print candidates' names in Chinese characters on ballots -- but that could change in a few years. The city's ballots are in English only,
but election materials and notices are printed in several languages, including Vietnamese and Chinese dialects. Although Quincy has one of the largest Asian-American populations in the state, it does not yet fall under the federal threshold that would require it to provide bilingual ballots. That
could change with the 2010 federal census. The state's top election official, Secretary William Galvin, is sparring with Chinese-American advocates in Boston over transliterating candidates' names into Chinese characters on ballots there. Chinese characters are used to approximate the sound of the
name in English. Galvin contends the transliterations are imprecise and can turn a candidate's name into something ridiculous. He said Mitt Romney could be rendered as "sticky rice," Fred Thompson as "virtue soup" and Thomas Menino as "sun moon rainbow farmer," "imbecile" or "barbarian mud no mi
nd of his own." Galvin's own name could come across in Chinese as "high prominent educated noble" or "stick mosquito." Advocates of bilingual ballots say they aren't as confusing as Galvin would have people believe and are necessary to secure the voting rights of those who can't read English or h
ave difficulty with it. Galvin supports translating the rest of the ballot; the conflict is over the names themselves. The bilingual ballots for Chinese speakers are required under an agreement between Boston and the Department of Justice reached in 2005. When the last census count was taken in
2000, Quincy had not reached the federal trigger that would require it to provide bilingual ballots. The situation will be re-evaluated by the Justice Department in 2010 with the next census, City Clerk Joseph Shea said. In the 2000 census, Quincy's population was 88,000, with 15.4 percent or 13,50
0 listed as Asian.About 20,000 people told census-takers that they speak a language other than English at home. Shea said that while the city does not offer bilingual ballots, the city has printed election material and notices in several languages for several years. Candidates' names are in English
in those materials. In past elections, the clerk's office has also made available several election workers who can speak both English and other languages and voters are allowed to bring in someone to translate for them, such as an English-speaking child or grandchild. Shea said there are 4,900 A
sian voters registered in the city, a number he expected to increase slightly as the fall election nears. That's about 9 percent of the city's 55,000 registered voters. Advocates for Quincy's Asian-American community say they are happy with what the city does on election day to help voters who have
difficulty with English. "We appreciate the efforts of the city government," said John Brothers, executive director of Quincy Asian Resources. However, regarding bilingual ballots, he added, "I think now may be a good time, in light of the conversation going on in Boston, to re-evaluate." Vict
or Ng, who is running for a seat on the Quincy City Council this year, said getting more Asian residents involved with local government is even more important than bilingual ballots. "There are many, many Asians in Quincy who do not vote," he said. "The ballots not being translated may not be the b
iggest challenge there. I think getting people out to vote and knowing the issues, getting involved in general may be one of the bigger issues." Your Views How do you feel about the use of bilingual ballots? Write: Your Views, The Patriot Ledger, 400 Crown Colony Drive, Quincy, MA 02169 Call: 78
1-340-3156 E-mail: editpage@ledger.com Please include your address and telephone number Diana Schoberg may be reached at dschoberg@ledger.com.

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