In response to growth in the San Diego Chinese voter population, the Registrar of Voters office is printing the ballot and other voting materials in Chinese.

With the general election just around the corner, efforts are underway to accommodate the needs of one of the fastest growing voter populations in San Diego County.

In order to comply with the Federal Voting Rights Act, election materials must be translated wherever 5 percent of a local population or 10,000 voting-age citizens speak the same language and have limited English proficiency.

According to U.S. Census 2010 data, San Diego’s Chinese population has met that threshold and the San Diego County’s Registrar of Voters office has confirmed that they are prepared to handle the added language.

“We have 120-something poll workers who can speak the language at the polling place, and we also have a liaison who acts as coordinator between the community and office, and staff in the office who can help the voter on the phone,” said Su Nguyen, a language coordinator with the Registrar of Voters.

The San Diego Chinese voter population is about 15,000, and the overall Asian population has grown nearly 25 percent in the last decade. Nguyen says the language barrier does add some challenges.

“The phone is ringing continually,” he said. “Each phone call we have, because most of the people they don’t understand much about election procedure here. That’s why we spend a lot of time for each phone call to explain,” he added.

The San Diego County election ballot is currently available in four languages, including Vietnamese, Spanish and English.

Whatever language you speak it’s important that you exercise your right to vote. So if you haven’t already done so please cast your ballot on Election Day, November 6, 2012, because in a close election your vote could indeed make a difference.