Vote aqui!
Blue and red diamond-shaped signs in Korean, Spanish, English and Chinese urged residents to vote at the Saint Sebastian Parish polling station in Woodside, Queens.
The posters also were outside the Charles O. Dewey School in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, as well as hundred of other polling sites throughout the five boroughs, signs of the changing city.
As immigrants become citizens and gain more electoral power, translators at polling stations are playing an increasingly critical role.
According to the 2000 Census, more than 66,000 foreign-born residents make up 60.3 percent of the population of Community District 2, which includes Long Island City, Sunnyside, and Woodside. Many residents trace their place of birth to countries as diverse as Ecuador, Columbia, China, Korea, and Ireland.
“A lot of Spanish-speaking people that come here need to know if they can register, if they can vote today,” said Vicenta Damiani, 39, a voter and translator from Ozone Park, Queens. “I feel good, I feel useful. A lot of people don’t even know how to say hello in English, but they want to vote.”
Inside the Catholic school’s small gymnasium, about ten interpreters filled several long tables, eager to offer assistance with the voting machine or to help voters locate their polling place.
Meanwhile, translators were in full force at the Charles O. Dewey School on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn to assist Spanish-speaking voters
“There are a lot of Spanish people who don’t understand English or speak it,” said Wanda Reyes, a 48-year-old school aide. “I help them read the ballot and explain to them what it’s about and then how to sign it.”
Reyes got involved after a co-worker asked her to help with translating for an anticipated big Latino turnout. The Hispanic population makes up the largest racial group in Sunset Park with 63,332, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. The neighborhood also has a large and growing Asian population.
Interpreters, no matter where they are working, are trained to keep their role to the mechanics of voting. Many take pride in providing an important service.
“If you can’t vote, you ain’t nobody,” said Damiani. “More people are coming out, doing anything to vote. They need change, they need benefits.”
Gae W. Sang, 21, sees little difference between the two major political parties, or their candidates. The Brooklyn College student said she is frustrated that her parents cannot vote because they are permanent residents, not citizens.
As a registered independent voter, she can’t vote in primaries, but spent Super Tuesday in Woodside working as a Korean translator. For her, translating is the best way to be a part of the political process.
“The Koreans that come are usually senior citizens,” said Sang. “They have difficulty reading and can’t speak the language. I think they would still vote, but it would take a longer time, and I am kind of scared that they would vote for the wrong person.”
