Which Indian Language Made It to the U.S. 2025 Election Ballots—and Why?

The Department of City Planning claims that more than 200 languages are spoken in New York, supporting the idea that the city is America's melting pot. However, despite this large number of languages, there will only be four other languages available on ballots for the US presidential election besides English.

As per the media sources, Indian languages in this list are represented by Bengali. The United States will elect its 47th president on Tuesday.

Listed Languages in US Election

"In addition to English, we must provide services in four other languages. The Asian languages are Chinese, Spanish, Korean, and Bengali,” said Michael J. Ryan, Executive Director of the NYC Board of Elections.

Reactions from the Indian Community

With Bengali ancestry, Subhshesh is a sales representative at a Times Square store. He is pleased that when he goes to vote, his father, who lives in the Queens region, will receive linguistic support.

"While I am able to communicate in English, many members of our community are more at ease speaking their native language. These people will benefit from this at the polling place. "Seeing a ballot paper in Bengali will definitely appeal to my father," Subhshesh says.

Bengali Language is a Legal Obligation

As per the election rule, it is not merely courteous to include Bengali on ballots; it is a legal obligation for the officers to provide all election materials in the language.

At some polling places, New York City is required by law to distribute voting materials in Bengali. This requirement covers more than simply ballots; it also covers all necessary voting materials, guaranteeing Bengali-speaking voters full linguistic support.

Why Was Bengali Language Chosen in US Presidential Election?

Ryan explains why Bengali was chosen as one of the languages offered by the Board of Elections:

"There was a lawsuit about language access, and as you know, India has many different languages. The lawsuit settlement required areas with a certain population density to offer an Asian Indian language. After some discussions, they chose Bengali. I understand there are limits to this choice, but it was a result of the lawsuit."

The Bengali-speaking community in Queens, New York, saw ballots translated into Bengali for the first time in 2013. This change happened nearly two years after the federal government required New York City to provide language support for South Asian minorities under the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

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