NEW JERSEY: Voter materials, including voter registration forms in New Jersey are now available in various Asian languages including Gujarati.The ethnic language forms were made available by the State in time for voters to register themselves for the February 5 Presidential primaries in the state.

This facility marks the first time that voter registration materials anywhere in the country are available in a South Asian language. South Asian advocacy groups have advised the community that even if they have missed registering before the deadline for their state's primaries, they should go ahead and register themselves anyway for the November General Election.Naturalization rates within the community are on the rise nationwide, yet significant segments of the South Asian population living in the US have been found to be limited English proficient (LEP).

In fact, one half of Bangladeshis, one third of Pakistanis, and nearly one quarter of Indians in the US are limited English proficient, surveys have revealed. The survey conducted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) found 40% of Pakistani, 38% of Bangladeshi and 17% of Indian voters were limited English proficient.

One-third of Urdu and one-third of Bengali speakers surveyed stated that they needed the assistance of interpreters or translated voting materials in order to vote. Although only 17% of Indian voters needed language assistance, most of these were Punjabi speaking Indians.Language barriers should not be an obstacle to engage in the electoral process, says the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT).

Providing translated voter materials in South Asian languages is one way of ensuring that all citizens are able to participate in the political process.Spearheaded by the AALDEF, and various organizations including SAALT, have advocated for translated voter registration forms since 2003. In 2004, the former Attorney General of New Jersey had promised the forms, but it was not until very recently that the forms were translated, printed, addressed, and postage-paid as all other state voter registration forms.

The new forms are a great victory for the voting rights of the South Asian community.On January 14, SAALT's New Jersey Outreach Coordinator Qudsia Raja, along with representatives from AALDEF, the Korean American Voters' Council of NY/NJ, the Organization of Chinese Americans - New Jersey Chapter, and the Office of Law and Public Safety of the New Jersey Attorney General participated in a press conference to announce the new voter registration materials.