CPA Boston Wins Step in the Fight for Bilingual Ballot

5/17/08
Mike Liu

The Boston City Council unanimously approved a motion supporting a fully-bilingual ballot in the city of Boston. In doing so, they are supporting the Chinese Progressive Association and other community organizations against the Massachusetts Secretary of State.

The motion calls for a home-rule petition that the state legislature must pass.

The point of contention between the Secretary of State William F. Galvin and the Chinatown groups has been translating the names of candidates, a routine practice by Chinese newspapers, The community had already won the general right to bilingual Chinese and Vietnamese ballots in a 2005 settlement between the US Department of Justice and the city over voting rights issues. That settlement expires this year, Galvin, who has recently assumed expertise in the Chinese language, has claimed that bilingual ballots do not include translation of candidate names.

Galvin has further claimed that translating names could lead to confusion and bias against certain candidates. The hundreds of community members who attended the city council hearings have compared the untranslated names to a Chinese restaurant menu where the dishes remain in Chinese.

The council's only Asian American member, Sam Yoon, has led the effort on the council. The current Mayor Tom Menino, while nominally supportive, has been lukewarm. He must now approve the petition before it goes to the Legislature.

In this multi-year language rights battle, CPA has won the support of numerous community organizations and formed a twenty-eight member coalition.

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