By IANS
New York : Gujarati will have the distinction of being the first Indian language in which voter forms will be available in the US.
Voters in New Jersey, which has a large Gujarati population, can now register to vote using Gujarati forms.
Naturalisation rates within the South Asian community are on the rise all over the US, yet significant segments of them are limited English proficient (LEP), according to the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), one of the organisations campaigning for translating voter material in languages other than English.
Nearly one quarter of Indians, one third of Pakistanis and one half of Bangladeshis in the US fall in the LEP category, SAALT said in a press release.
“Language barriers should not be an obstacle to engage in the electoral process. Providing translated voter materials in South Asian languages is one way of ensuring that all citizens are able to participate in the political process,” SAALT said.
The presidential elections in the US are to be held in November.