When New Yorkers cast their ballots tomorrow, translators will be on hand at dozens of city polling places to make sure everyone's voice will be heard no matter what language they speak.
More than 100 polling sites in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island will have translators available to help voters who speak languages like Russian, Haitian Creole, Polish, Yiddish, Arabic and Italian.
Sonia Lin, from the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, says the translation initiative began as a pilot program at about 20 poll sites. Its success led to its expansion.
"We use nonpartisan, data-driven methodology to identify the sites and the languages where we will be putting city interpreters," says Lin. "So you will have Polish interpreters at the McGuinness Senior Center in Greenpoint, interpreters in Haitian Creole at the Flatbush YMCA."
The program is in addition to language assistance offered by the Board of Elections.