Primary Election Ballots Printed in Korean For First Time
Although federal law mandated ballots be offered in Korean in Palisades Park, Leonia and Fort Lee, county clerk decided to make it a countywide practice.
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Bergen County Clerk John S. Hogan Friday announced that ballots for the June 5 Primary Election have been printed in Korean, in addition to English and Spanish, for the first time in the county’s history.
Hogan made the announcement at a recent press conference in Palisades Park, telling people that federal law mandated ballots be in Korean in three Bergen communities that “met a population level threshold,” but that “out of respect for the growing numbers and impact of the Korean Community in Bergen County,” he made the decision to print the ballots in Korean countywide.
“Certainly no one can argue with any improvements or innovations that increase the participation of our citizens in the democratic process by making it easier to vote and become involved,” Hogan said, pointing out that Bergen County and Queens County, NY are currently the only counties on the East Coast to offer Korean language ballots.
He also announced the county is printing an “Elections and Voting Guide” in English, Spanish and Korean. The voting guide will include a Vote by Mail Ballot Application as a removable insert.
More information is available at the County Clerk’s website.
mushroom
12:11 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
You have to be a citizen to vote. Don't you have to read and write English to become a citizen?
Karin Kiesow-Irvine
9:58 am on Monday, June 4, 2012
Mushroom, no you do not have to speak or write English to become a citizen. America unlike many other countries does not have an "official" language...