US presidential elections: Why does Bengali feature on New York's ballot paper?

It’s the eve of a pivotal day as Americans prepare to elect their next president on November 5. Amidst this excitement, New York’s 2024 presidential ballot is turning heads due to its intriguing language lineup.

In a city renowned for its cultural diversity, where over 200 languages are spoken, an unexpected Indian language has secured a spot on the ballot. Surprisingly, it’s not the language most would anticipate.

Bengali has emerged as the only Indian language on New York’s 2024 US presidential election ballots, joining the other Asian languages commonly spoken in the Big Apple.

But what led to Bengali’s inclusion on US ballots? Here’s a closer look at the story.

Including Bengali ‘makes things easier at polling stations’

New York City, often known as a melting pot of cultures in America, is known for its vibrant and diverse population.

According to the Asian American Federation, 66 per cent of immigrants living in New York do not have English as their first language. As a result, 45 per cent of the Asian Americans in the city have limited proficiency in English.

Keeping this diversity in mind, Micheal J Ryan, Executive Director of New York City’s Board of Elections, emphasised the necessity of including Asian languages on ballots.

“We are required to service four other languages besides English. It is Chinese, Spanish, Korean and Bengali as the Asian languages,” Ryan explained to PTI.

While Hindi may be one of the most popular Indian languages, New York has a significant Bengali-speaking population, comprising residents from both India and Bangladesh.

As per a 2022 article by the Asian American Federation, Bengali is the second most spoken Asian language in New York (12.2 per cent) after Chinese (53.6 per cent). Hindi ranked sixth at 3.3 per cent.

The move to include Bengali on the ballot paper is to encourage voter participation in New York.

Subhshesh, a sales agent in Times Square with Bengali roots, expressed his delight as his father, who lives in Queens, will benefit from the linguistic support when casting his vote.  

“People like me know English, but many in our community feel more comfortable with their native language. This will make things easier at the polling station. I’m sure my father will appreciate seeing a Bengali ballot,” he shared with the news agency.

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A New York law mandate

The inclusion of Bengali on New York’s ballots is not just a symbolic gesture but a legal requirement.

Ryan explained the background of this decision to PTI.

“There was a lawsuit about language access and as you know the country of India has a lot of different languages within it. The settlement of that lawsuit required within a certain population density to have an Asian Indian language. Then through some negotiations, they settled on Bengali. I understand the limitations of Bengali being the choice but it came out of a lawsuit,” he said.

This historic inclusion of Bengali on a presidential ballot first appeared on the presidential ballot in Queens in 2013, following a federal directive under the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This mandate required language assistance for South Asian minorities, ensuring they could fully participate in the electoral process.

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Now, by law, New York City is obligated to offer voting materials in Bengali at designated poll sites. This provision covers more than just ballots; it extends to all essential voting materials, providing comprehensive language support to Bengali-speaking voters.

Dr Avinash Gupta, President of the Federation of Indian Association says it helps the Indian community.

“It will help the Indian population to go out and vote. That is how we can get our voices heard. We are a sizable population. It is heartening to see how Indians go out and vote and even contest elections”, said Dr Gupta.

With input from agencies