Good Characters, Inc. Blog

What is the price of not having properly translated Chinese names? For the city of San Francisco, the answer is “More than $25,000.”

The problem arose just prior to an election when seven candidates for local offices found their translated names absent from the Chinese-language voting materials. Even though the English names were on the voter handbook and absentee ballot, Supervisor Mabel Teng complained that not having her name translated into the language of the voter was the same as not having it on the ballot at all. The federal Voting Rights Act as well as state law requires that precincts provide voting materials in languages other than English if a sufficient number of voters need them.

The omission cost San Francisco about $19,000 for printing and mailing of new materials for the 3,000 voters who requested Chinese-language election materials and up to $7,500 for running ads in Chinese-language newspapers to inform voters. It could have cost $105,000 to $310,000 if all the voter handbooks and absentee ballots had to be reprinted and resent.

The whole mess could have been avoided. If every public figure whose name might appear in a Chinese-language publication had an official translation of his or her name, that name would be readily available. It would be handy when a reporter calls or when filling out an application to run for public office.

Link:

• Ballot Brouhaha–A Federal Case?
  Campaigns, city compromise on corrections, but debate over omitted Chinese names continues