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MANILA, Philippines ? Three Asian-Americans emerged victorious in the recent city-wide elections in New York, despite problems noted by a civil rights group.
Democrat John Liu became the first Asian-American to be elected as city comptroller, garnering 696,330 votes and beating Republican Joseph Mandola by over 500,000 votes.
Two other Asian-Americans, Margaret Chin and Peter Koo, also won seats to the 51-member City Council.
But according to the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), which sent its findings to the media, several problems were cited in the city-wide elections.
The group monitored 50 poll sites for compliance on language assistance provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
In the District 19 Bayside City Council race between Dan Halloran and Kevin Kim, for example, the group noted that several Asian-American voters were challenged and some were even denied language assistance.
?At one poll site, Korean-American voters received little assistance since only Chinese interpreters were available,? AALDEF said.
In another poll site, white voters were reportedly told not to vote for Kim because ?he?s Chinese.?
AALDEF also noted that Asian-American voters faced several barriers in exercising their right to vote.
Problems include interpreter shortages that made voting difficult for limited English proficient voters. Voters also complained of hostile poll workers, improper requests for ID, broken voting machines, and denials of voting by affidavit ballot.
?All of these voter problems were reported to the New York City Board of Elections, which investigated the complaints at AALDEF?s urging,? the group said.
Poll monitors observed that of the Asian-American voters in the city, only 16 percent identified English as their native language, while as much as 60 percent said that they have limited English proficiency.
AALDEF partnered with several groups to mobilize volunteer attorneys, law students, college students, and community residents on Election Day: Asian American Bar Association of New York; Hunter College/CUNY, Asian American Studies Program; Korean American Association of Greater New York; Korean American League for Civic Action; MinKwon Center for Community Action; Muslim Bar Association of New York; The Sikh Coalition; South Asian Bar Association of New York; and South Asian Youth Action!
