NEW YORK () — The New York City Board of Elections has made voting registration forms available in Yiddish.
The forms were available starting Monday, according to a statement by state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Brooklyn Democrat.
Hikind, who is Jewish, said he requested in December that the Board of Elections provide the forms in Yiddish.
“There are thousands of Yiddish speakers in my district and New York State,” Hikind said in the statement. “Everyone deserves the right to have their voice heard and be able to vote. Now Yiddish-speaking constituents can now register with ease.”
The Board of Elections is required to provide the document, which city residents must fill out in order to vote, in English, Bengali, Mandarin, Korean and Spanish, according to its website. It also provides forms in 11 additional languages, now including Yiddish.
In July, the city made voter registration forms available in five new languages in order to expand access to voting.
Author
Josefin Dolsten
Josefin Dolsten is a former news fellow at the Forward, writing about politics and culture, and editing the Sisterhood blog. She received an MA in Jewish Studies and Comparative Religion from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a BA in Government from Cornell University. Follow her on Twitter at @josefindolsten .
