Immigrant Voting

Although immigration was not mentioned in any of the debates between the Presidential candidates or in the Vice Presidential debate, voter turnout among Latinos and other immigrant groups is expected to reach an all time high. Much of this is due to the work of community organizers. The L.A Times reports:

In an effort to get new citizens registered and to the polls, community groups are walking precincts, conducting phone banks, holding forums and distributing multilingual voter guides. The Ya es Hora, ¡Ve y Vota!, (It’s Time, Go Vote!) campaign aims to involve Latino immigrants in the electoral process and force politicians to listen. But first, many of the new citizens need help with the logistics, such as filling out registration forms and finding polling places.

“A lot of people in the community are ready to participate in the civic life of our country, but often they don’t know how the process works,” said Ben Monterroso, executive director of the Mi Familia Vota organization.

The nonpartisan campaign is the next phase of a movement that started in 2006, when immigrants nationwide marched for immigrant rights. Many held signs saying, Ahora marchamos, mañana votamos (Now We March, Tomorrow We Vote).

Building on the momentum from the marches, community organizers helped get record numbers of eligible green-card holders to apply for citizenship. In fiscal years 2006 and 2007, about 1.36 million legal immigrants were naturalized, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Now groups are trying to turn that energy into political power, working to increase new Latino voter turnout throughout the country.

But, it is not just the immigrant Latino vote that is being mobilized; Asian American communities are also registering many new voters and engaging in the political process like never before.

Asian American groups are also reaching out to new citizens in their community. They are distributing “easy voter guides” in various languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean and are calling registered voters in their own languages.

“To get a personal phone call in their language is rare for them,” said Eugene Lee, voting right project director at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. “It makes a difference.”

Eun Sook Lee, who works with Korean Americans, said new citizens are attending voter presentations about the political process and the current ballot initiatives. She said they are concerned about many of the same issues, including the economy and healthcare, as other Americans.