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Volume 13, Issue #1. Published on November 3, 2004
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Counting the Asian American Vote
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Donna Taketa
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In the final weeks of the presidential election, President George W. Bush and Mass. Senator John Kerry were fervently campaigning to the finish.
Both presidential hopefuls appealed to numerous ethnic and organized groups; Asian Americans, however, may have felt ignored.
“In this election season, I think we've been fairly invisible,” said Karen Narasaki, president of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, an organization dedicated to bringing Asian American issues to the attention of the political parties.
For the first time this electoral season, 18 Asian American activist groups joined to create a single platform reflecting their priorities for presidential candidates to acknowledge, USA Today reported.
“This is really the first time we've come together,” Narasaki said.
“We're going to make it clear that all of our communities are standing behind these issues,” he said.
Asian Americans comprise only 4.2 percent of the nation's population but represent only 1.9 percent of the nation’s votes, according to the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization.
In contrast, Caucasians account for 70 percent of the U.S. population and 81 percent of the votes.
California alone houses 1.9 million Asian American citizens of voting age.
Two-thirds of the Asian electorate reside in Hawaii, according to the Urban Institute, with 11 percent in California, 6 percent in Nevada and 5 percent in Washington.
The number of Asian American votes rose by 22 percent.
“Our votes could easily be swayed by candidates who understand our community, understand our issues,” said Daphne Kwok, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.
With roots from over 50 nations and speaking more than 100 languages, Asian American voters are almost evenly split among Republican, Democratic, and Independent political parties said Kwok.
Issues that particularly resonate with this constituency include education, affordable housing, health care and immigration--issues that are important to most Americans.
Other key issues include protecting affirmative action, fighting hate crimes and racial profiling.
EunSook Lee, executive director of the National Korean American Service and Edu-cation Consortium voiced his concerns:
“Outwardly, non Asian Americans see us as one grouping.
At the same time, we have different priorities.”
In addition to prioritizing main issues, the Asian American platform attempts to dispel the stereotypical illusion that Asians are the “model minority.”
For instance, a report issued by the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans stated that in 2000 the poverty rates of Asian Americans were:
38 percent for Hmong, 19 percent for Laotians and 29 percent for Cambodian.
Narasaki said that candidates look to Asian Americans, “for financial support for campaigns, but they're not reaching out to our communities in terms of caring about our votes.”
“This is my chance to become the commander of the space station,” Chiao explained, “and do some meaningful work on board the space station to further our goals toward exploration, toward returning to the moon and on to Mars.”
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