Malden’s bilingual voting rights grade is an A- for 2024!

Special to The Advocate

Although report card day can be daunting, Mayor Gary Christenson was thrilled when he received the report for Malden’s 2024 election cycle. Overall, the city earned a final grade of A-! City Clerk Carol Ann Desiderio and employees worked hard over the last year to ensure full and meaningful voter access and participation.

In 2023 the City Clerk’s Office helped advocate for Malden’s Transliteration Bill to ensure that Malden’s ballots were made fully bilingual in Chinese with the transliteration of each candidate’s name. Over the last year, the Mayor and Clerk Desiderio met regularly with several organizations and advocacy groups to work on ways to improve voter accessibility. Following the Presidential Election, the city was randomly selected for a voting audit, which went smoothly and further demonstrated Malden’s commitment to fair elections. The collaborative efforts paid off, as the city received its highest grades in areas like the city’s community outreach efforts, the translation of polling place signage, targeted outreach and information sessions, trainings on cultural sensitivity and the use of bilingual poll workers.

“We deeply value our ongoing collaboration with the City of Malden,” said Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition Vice President Yu Sin Mok. “The progress in language access over the past few years highlights the power of meaningful partnerships between grassroots community groups and city leaders. We are proud to see Malden’s significant strides in ensuring equitable access for all voters. We hope this collaboration inspires neighboring cities to strengthen their support for Limited English Proficient voters.”