Las Vegas, NV — All Voting is Local and the Asian Community Development Council will be releasing an Chinese language voter guide, which includes general information from the official General Election Sample provided by Clark County for the Chinese-American community in Nevada ahead of the midterm election.
Under a minority language assistance provision of the Federal Voting Rights Act, Clark County fell just short of receiving an official translated voting guide, which left nearly 10,000 Chinese-American voters in Clark County with no assisted translated materials for the upcoming election.
“There is a critical and urgent need for voters in this community to have language-accessible ballot information,” said Mary Janet Ramos, Campaign Manager of All Voting is Local Nevada. “With the help of local AAPI groups like the Asian Community Development Council, we want to ensure that the Chinese-American community can cast their ballots with confidence knowing that their vote matters.”
The voter guide will contain information about election deadlines and processes, voting options, voting site locations during early voting and on Election Day, as well as where to go for help or questions. It will be available online on the Asian Community Development Council website.
The Asian Community Development Council will also work with Chinese American organizations such as the Nevada Chinese Association to distribute copies of the voter guide at community events, community centers, local markets and businesses, as well as polling sites frequented by the Chinese-American community.
“In 2021, Clark County missed the threshold required by Voting Rights Act Section 203 to translate Chinese language ballots by 500 people. Giving voters accurate information about the elections and ways they are able to cast their ballots is crucial to protecting democracy,” Amy Koo, Assistant Director of Outreach at the Asian Community Development Council said. ”For our limited-English proficient communities, information in-language is often communicated through informal networks of community translators, family members, and friends. By providing ballots in-language to the community, we are ensuring that Chinese speakers are given accurate information about voting and are able to make informed decisions at the ballot box. “
“Our community is thriving and growing in Las Vegas and across Nevada. The Nevada Chinese Association has been connecting community members from Chinese-speaking countries for years, and providing a space for people to discuss their concerns and needs in-language,” said Jenny Koo, Vice President of the Nevada Chinese Association. “As a community-based organization, we want to encourage our community members to make their voices heard and use their power at the ballot box. Often, when it comes to finding information about voting or what’s on the ballot in Chinese, there are no official resources, so we rely on what information is available. By translating the ballot into Chinese and sharing it with the community, I hope more people will make their voices heard.”
“The Culinary Union is the largest organization of AAPI workers in Nevada. Our union represents thousands of Chinese speakers,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Union. “Just as we advocate for worker rights in the workplace everyday, we also advocate for Nevadans’ right to fully participate in the political process and exercise their right to vote. Today’s release of this Chinese-language voter guide is a milestone event in our diverse community.”
All Voting is Local Nevada is committed to advocating for policies that address existing language barriers in order to ensure that every Nevadan has the opportunity to fully participate in our democracy. In partnership with the Asian Community Development Council, we have supported community efforts to provide voting information to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in various languages: Tagalog, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Thai.
To learn more and view the Chinese language voter guide online please visit the Asian Development Council website here. Physical copies are available for community members at 3235 S Rainbow Blvd, Suite 101 Las Vegas, NV 89146.