Under the Language Assistance Provisions (Section 203) of the Federal Voting Rights Act, eleven states must now provide bilingual ballots, translated voter registration forms, and interpreters to Asian-American voters in six languages. For the first time, South Asian languages were included, as well as Korean. In addition, the jurisdictions required to provide Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese language assistance significantly expanded.
“We’re ecstatic that more Asian Americans will be able to exercise their right to vote — and that the voting process will accommodate an increasingly diverse electorate,” said Glenn D. Magpantay, Director of the Democracy Program at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).
When the census finds that 5% or more than 10,000 voting-age citizens speak the same language, have limited English proficiency, and have a higher illiteracy rate as a group than the national rate, under the Voting Rights Act, all voting materials must be translated and interpreters must be provided at pol> sites.
Unfortunately, at this time, Virginia does not provide the option of bilingual ballots.

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As a Voter in Virginia, you also have certain responsibilities:

• To treat the election officials with courtesy and respect.
• To keep your voter registration information up-to-date with your current address. (If not, you may be eligible to vote at your prior precinct for a limited time under a legal exception. You must tell the election officials when and where you moved. Contact your voter registration office or the State Board of Elections if you have questions about your eligibility to vote.)
• To show your identification (ID) at the polls. If you do not have an ID with you at the polling place, you may still vote if you sign an “Affirmation of Identity” statement, depending on your registration status. See “Provisional Ballots” below.
• If party nominating primaries are being held, to tell the officials which primary you want to vote in. You may vote in either primary, but not both primaries held on the same day.
• To request assistance if you do not know how to use the voting equipment or have other questions about the voting process, or need assistance preparing your ballot because of a physical disability or inability to read or write.
• To follow the instructions on how to mark your ballot.
• To understand that once your ballot is cast, you cannot be given another ballot.
• To ask the election official to call the General Registrar’s office before you leave the polling place if you have problems regarding your eligibility to vote or the casting of your ballot.

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As a Voter in Virginia, you do have rights:

• To be treated with courtesy and respect by the election officials.
• To be notified if your voter registration has been accepted or denied.
• To vote if you have registered at your current address at least 22 days before Election Day.
• To seek help from the election officials if you are unsure about anything relating to the voting process.
• To be given a demonstration of how the voting equipment works.
• To have your paper or optical scan ballot voided before it is cast and be given a new one if you want to change your vote.
• To change your touchscreen ballot before it is cast.
• To enter the full name of a write-in candidate if the candidate of your choice is not on the ballot (except in party primaries).
• To have a ballot brought to your vehicle instead of entering the polling place if you are 65 years of age or older, or if you are physically disabled.
• To have an officer of election or other person help you vote if you are physically disabled or unable to read or write (or need the ballot translated into another language). Blind voters may have any person assist them. Other voters may have anyone who is not their employer or union representative assist them. Note: The officer of election or other person who assists you must follow your instructions, without trying to influence your vote, and shall not tell or signal how you voted on any office or question.
• To vote even if you have no identification with you at the polling place. You must sign the “Affirmation of Identity” statement before voting if you have no ID. Exception: Voters who registered by mail for the first time in Virginia on or after January 1, 2003, and who did not mail in a copy of their ID at that time, and who fail to show one of the federally required forms of ID when voting for the first time in a federal election must vote by Provisional Ballot in that election. They may not use the “Affirmation of Identity” statement at that election.
• To vote a Provisional Ballot if your status as a qualified voter is in question, and to be present when the Electoral Board meets to determine if your ballot will be counted. See “Provisional Ballots” below.
• To bring your minor child (age 15 or younger) into the voting booth with you to observe you vote.
• To vote if you are in line by 7:00 p.m. when the polls close.
• To cast an absentee ballot if you are qualified to vote absentee.
• To register to vote absentee in Virginia if you are a U.S. Citizen overseas and your last residence in the U.S. was in Virginia, or you are a Virginia resident away in the military.
• You cannot be denied the right to vote if you are legally qualified to do so.
• Government officials must not apply standards or practices which deny or abridge the right to vote on account of race, and must not deny any individual the right to vote on account of errors or omissions in registration applications which are not material to determining whether such individual is qualified to vote. Officials must not apply different standards and procedures to voters in the same circumstances in determining whether they are qualified to vote.

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Yes! It’s important to be reigstered by a certain date in order to vote.

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Where to obtain a voter registration application:

• Local voter registration office
• State or local government offices when applying or recertifying for Aid to Dependent Children, Food Stamps, WIC, Medicaid, or Rehabilitation Services
• Government offices in the State that provide State-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to person with disabilities
• Armed forces recruitment offices
• Public libraries
• State Board of Elections office
• Department of Motor Vehicles offices
• Voter Registration Drives

Once you have completed your registration application, you can file it with a local registration office or mail it to the address printed on the form. You can either fill out a Virginia Voter Registration Application form or a National Voter Registration Application form.

If you are in the Military or are currently residing outside of the United States, please contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program for registration information.

Once your registration form is submitted, you will receive a voter registration card in the mail. If you do not receive it, contact your local Registrar’s Office to check if you application has been processed.

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You are eligible to vote in Virginia if you are…

• A resident of Virginia (If you have come to Virginia for temporary purposes and you intend to return to another state, you are not a resident)
• A United States Citizen
• Eighteen years or older (If you are 17 years old and will be 18 years old at the next general election, you are permitted to register in advance and vote in any intervening primary or special election)
• Not registered or plan to vote in another state
• Not currently declared mentally incompetent by a court of law
• Convicted of a felony but have had your right to vote restored

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Through the work of seven visual artists, this exhibition explores the diversity of contemporary Asian American identity.

Featuring the works of:

• Roger Shimomura
• Shizu Saldamando
• Satomi Shirai
• CYJO
• Zhang Chun Hong
• Tam Tran

CYJO was born in 1974 in Seoul, Korea. CYJO describes herself as “kyopo”, a Korean term for ethnic Koreans who live in other countries. From a single portrait in 2004, the KYOPO Project, has grown to include a wide range of individuals who wish to share their story of identity. Her portraiture is about exploring individual identity in relation to heritage and contemporary life. The KYOPO project specifically examines this idea of identity and immigration through the lens of Korean ancestry.

Zhang Chun Hong was born in 1971. She is a Chinese-born artist living and working in the United States. In her work, she references her own identity through disembodied images of long, straight, black hair. The scrolls are exaggerated in scale to transform a personal exploration into a universal theme. In Eastern culture, a woman’s long hair is associated with life force, sexual energy, growth, and beauty. Her artistic style incorporates the visuals of scroll paintings to reflect the influence of traditional Chinese culture on her work.

Hye Yeon Nam was born in 1979. She is a Korean artist who uses her artwork to address issues of personal and societal concern. Aware of the contrast in expectations for the appropriate behavior of women in Korea as compared to the United States, she creates a body of work that addresses these feelings of awkwardness. She says, “As a woman and a Korean immigrant in the United States, I have struggled to adjust to my new culture. Every situation summons different customs, requiring me to adopt unfamiliar behaviors in order to conform to expectations. My work reflects my desire to resist such pressure by using physical dissonance to reveal different perspectives upon the norm.”

Roger Shimamura was born in 1939. He is a painter, printmaker, and performance artist whose work focuses on the experiences of Asian Americans and the challenges of being “different” in America. He has known the pain and embarrassment associated with xenophobia having been sent to a Japanese internment camp during World War II. He creates work that pivots on the racist stereotypes that have been used to characterize Asian Americans.

Satomi Shirai was born in 1972. Her photographic project, Home and Home: New York in My Life is about her coming to grips with the dislocations caused by her move to the city from Japan in 2004. Her work investigates what constitutes the concept of “home” as an immigrant.

Shizu Salamando was born in 1978. Her portraits suggest that race, gender and ethnicity act as white noise to the scene, audible but not identifiable. She is of Japanese and Mexican descent. Her work examines different social constructs and subcultures. She wishes to document mundane social moments as a way to glorify the everyday people who are often overlooked but whose existence is the embodiment of a historical struggle.

Tam Tran was born in 1986. She grew up in the South after immigrating from South Vietnam. She experienced two cultures, one at home and another in the world around her. Her photographs investigate identity as well as gender. Her work reflects a commentary on self-definition through appearance.

The information above is from the Portraiture NOW Asian American Portraits of Encounter exhibition brochure.

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@Johnson Center Bistro (Lower Level)

Join us at the Mason DREAMers Event on Thursday, April 19, 2012 from 6 pm to 9 pm and tell us what home means to you!

Mason Dreamers and Our Home wants to show that despite our different backgrounds, we all share the same goal to be successful through education and in the company of our family in America.

Mason Dreamers and Our Home wants to bring awareness to the struggles that members of our community go through when they immigrate to the United States from different cultures.

P.S.: If you can’t make it, please post your stories at Share Your Story

Strength in stories!

George Mason University
4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030
@Johnson Center Bistro (Lower Level)

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Join us at Embrace Ministry of Seoul Presbyterian Church on Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 12 pm to 1 pm to share your story.

Tell us what home means to you, and what you would say if you had your voice heard in the government.

Our team will invite members to join our table game, fill out cue cards or simply join a conversation!

Our team members will be there to answer any questions you may have or simply to chat!

See you on Sunday!
P.S.: If you can’t make it, please post your stories at Share Your Story

Seoul Presbyterian Church
6426 Ox Rd, Fairfax Station, VA 22039-1616

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