You are currently browsing the THE CHINATOWN BLOG weblog archives for the day August 7, 2008.
- AROUND C-TOWN (26)
- CHINATOWN CALENDAR (47)
- LIFE AND STORIES OF ASIAN AMERICANS (8)
- THE CHINATOWN BEAT (5)
- The PU PU CHATTER (2)
- WORD ON THE STREET (96)
- November 18, 2008: Book Party Event: Snake Dance of Asian American Activism
- November 10, 2008: UMass Boston Professor on Proposed Casino for Philly Chinatown
- November 7, 2008: One "Advocacy Group" Responds to Election Day Complaint
- November 3, 2008: Former Syrian Churches on Hudson Street
- November 3, 2008: Casino in Chinatown?
- October 28, 2008: Boston Globe: State Senator Dianne Wilkerson Arrested by FBI
- October 27, 2008: Boston Globe: "Good moves on Greenway"
- October 24, 2008: 1st Annual Boston Asian American Leadership Conference
- October 13, 2008: Is the BRA Trying to Throw a Fast One?
- October 13, 2008: Super 88 Market Closes Half of Stores
Archive for August 7, 2008
Bilingual Ballots, Sample Ballots NOT Ratified
August 7, 2008 by Chinatown Blogger.
UPDATE 8-08-2008: The sample ballots were not ratified. The House killed the bill.
State Senator Dianne Wilkerson and Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon reported at the August 7th Chinatown Residents Association meeting that sample bilingual ballots were ratified. Starting on August 16th, 10,000 bilingual sample ballots will be made available for the Sept. 16th elections. The bilingual sample ballots will be the same as the real ballots with the exception that the candidates names will be transliterated into Chinese. The sample ballots cannot be used to vote, but can be used as a reference.
Councilor Sam Yoon had sponsored a home-rule petition bill to allow bilingual ballots in the City of Boston for the elections. The Boston City Council passed the bill and Mayor Menino signed his endorsement. The home-rule petition was then submitted to the State Legislature. However, at the State Legislature, the bill was bogged down in the House. Secretary of State, William Galvin, has fought hard to defeat the proposed bill. Galvin’s primary argument is that transliterated names are not accurate.
Wilkerson, whose district includes Chinatown, thanked the many Chinatown residents and activists who held a vigil outside the State House last month.
“By standing outside, you raised awareness on the issue. Some of my colleagues in the Senate asked me why there were people standing outside the State House. I told my colleagues: They just want to vote,” said Wilkerson.
The vigil spurred the State Senate and Senate President Therese Murray to support the bill. A budget amendment was attached to allow for the funding of the bilingual ballots. Councilor Yoon came up and said that, “This is the first step and that the community has won round 1.” He thanked all the people who put effort into making this possible and encouraged Chinatown to attend the House hearings on bilingual ballots when they are scheduled.
The Speaker of the House, Sal DiMasi, also represents Chinatown as part of his district. The Chinatown Residents Association meets on the first Wednesday of each month at the Josiah Quincy School on Washington Street.
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