Recently, Mayor Bill de Blasio has expanded those who are able to register to vote by making voter registration forms available in five more languages: Russian, Urdu, Haitian Creole, French and Arabic. Prior to this expansion, voter registration forms were only available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Bangla.
De Blasio said, “No one should be disenfranchised because of their language. These voter registration forms in five new languages will help us involve even more New Yorkers in the voting process. New York is a city of immigrants, and these forms will help New Yorkers of every background cast their ballots on Election Day.”
In addition to providing new voter registration forms in more languages, the mayor has issued Directive #1, which expands the requirements for agency-based voter registration, including the requirement that 19 chosen agencies must provide assistance if requested. Furthermore, the de Blasio administration is working to develop electronic voter registration forms.
After his plan to bring equal opportunity to the diverse communities of New York City, de Blasio has developed the NYCitizenship program, which provides participants with attorneys, information sessions and free financial counseling services.
“It’s a proud moment in NYC history that more immigrant communities will have the opportunity to register to vote where they will no longer experience any language barriers to be a part of the democratic process,” said Naji Almontaser, president of the New York Muslim Voter Information Club. “I am extremely grateful for the visionary leadership of this administration for their inclusion of all communities. Many New Yorkers will now feel that they are just as important and as valuable as everyone else. This is truly a great day for New York that it continues to lead the world in building bridges and tearing down walls.”