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Armenian may be added to official translation list for election ballots

An American and Armenian flag rest together against a tree. Many of the speeches focused on the role of Armenia and America together in increasing recognition of the genocide.
Michael Juliano/KPCC
With almost 30,000 registered voters of Armenian descent in Los Angeles, the City Council may soon consider including the Armenian language in election ballots.

The city council may soon consider including the Armenian language in election ballots in order to service the nearly 30,000 registered voters of Armenian descent in L.A.

Paul Krekorian, the first Armenian-American on the L.A. City Council, submitted the motion along with Council President Herb Wesson. The move was made now to coincide with this week's anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

They’re asking for the city's election materials and ballots to be translated into Armenian in time for the 2013 elections.

The city of Glendale, which has a proportionately larger Armenian population, already does this.

In accordance with the Voting Rights Act, ballots are already being translated into six languages—Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese and Japanese.

Based on Census numbers revealed last year, Hindi and Thai will soon be added to that list.