City to offer neighborhood specific translation services on Election Day

The NYC Civic Engagement Commission will offer translation services in 11 additional languages next month. Eagle file photo by David Brand

By Jacob Kaye

The New York City Civic Engagement Commission will provide translation services in an additional 11 languages at polling sites for next month’s primary election. 

On top of the Spanish translation services that will be offered at every polling site in the city, the commission has selected a handful of sites to feature either Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Mandarin, French, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Urdu or Yiddish translation services.  

The services will be offered on the final two days of early voting – June 19 and 20 – and then again on Election Day on Tuesday, June 22.

The need for specific language translation services was calculated by the commission using the most recent U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and data from the city’s Board of Elections, according to the CEC. 

All voters have the right to bring an interpreter with them to the voting booth, regardless of the translation services offered at the polling site. Employers or union representatives may not act as translators. 

In Queens, the following locations are offering site specific translation services during the final two days of early voting:

Middle Village: Board of Elections - Queens Voting Machine Facility Annex – Italian and Polish

Forest Hills: Helen Marshall Cultural Center at Queens Borough Hall – Polish and Russian

Laurelton: Holy Trinity Parish Church – French and Haitian

Kew Gardens Hills: Queens College – Urdu and Russian 

Rego Park: Rego Center Community Room – Polish and Russian

Arverne: Rockaway YMCA – Polish and Russian

The following locations are offering site specific translation services on Election Day:

Astoria: PS 85-Judge Charles Vallone – Italian 

Ridgewood: PS 88-Seneca  – Polish 

Maspeth: Holy Cross Church – Polish

Queens Village: PS 34-John Harvard – Haitian Creole

Rego Park: PS 175-Lynn Gross Discovery School – Russian

Rego Park: JHS 157-Stephen A Halsey – Russian