Mar 11, 5:41 PM EST

Voter registration forms now in 5 Asian languages

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Voter registration forms are now available nationally in five Asian languages.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission released the forms on its Web site Thursday in Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean and Tagalog.

States already have been producing ballots in those languages, but voter registration forms previously were offered only in English and Spanish.

Nationwide, the Asian-American population has grown from 0.5 percent in 1960, to 5 percent now. The Census projects it will grow to 8 percent, or to 33.4 million, by 2050.

Immigrant advocates say the newly translated forms are an important move to ensure new citizens' participation in the electoral process.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... SECTION=US

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On the Net:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission, http://www.eac.gov/index-html1