All welcome: Advocates fight to ensure citizens not fluent in English have equal access to elections

LAS VEGAS (AP) — In the heart of Las Vegas’ Chinatown, on the second floor of a sprawling shopping plaza that serves as a hub for the city’s Asian community, residents gather for a celebration of the annual Dragon Boat Festival.

Some stop in to grab shiny, red packages of premade zongzi, a rice dish wrapped in bamboo leaves often eaten during the Chinese holiday.

Others talk with advocates who are on hand to educate people about the importance of elections. They grab flyers decorated with a colorful dragon boat and something else: a QR code taking them to information about how to vote – all translated into Chinese.

Longtime community leader Vida Lin walks in and flashes her own “I Voted” sticker, having already cast her early ballot in the state primary. Nine years ago, Lin founded the Asian Community Development Council, and since then, she has fought for the very information attendees are getting today: details about how to register to vote and cast a ballot on Election Day, translated into their primary language.

For Lin, these resources help increase civic engagement among one of the fastest-growing demographic groups in the state and nation. That, she says, is the only way her community can gain power.

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