Politics: Targeting the AAPI Vote for the 2012 Presidential Election
by Guest Contributor Erin Pangilinan, originally published at Hyphen
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are the fastest growing racial group in the United States, making AAPI voters a force to be reckoned with as a key constituency group for the 2012 presidential election. The Obama For America (OFA) campaign is attempting to capture the attention of ethnic voting blocs in various states.
Unfortunately only 48 percent of AAPIs turned out to vote in 2008, making them the lowest registered group, compared to 62 percent of all Americans. Only half of eligible AAPIs are registered to vote, making AAPIs the lowest racial or ethnic group recorded. OFA can still remain optimistic though, since 81 percent of first-time AAPI voters voted for President Obama.
While mainstream news outlets focused on AAPI Silicon Valley entrepreneurs as flashy campaign donors in the already blue state of California, what’s really at stake for many is outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. AAPI populations can make a big difference in battleground states throughout the country, especially Nevada.
Holding six electoral votes, Nevada is a key swing state to win the presidential election. Nevada is home to the nation’s fastest growing AAPI population. AAPI and Latino voters were the margin of swing victory in U.S. Senator Harry Reid’s run for re-election in Nevada during the 2010 mid-term elections.
Filipino Americans are the second largest ethnic group in Nevada alone, and make up 4 percent of the state’s population at 98,000 — 86,000 of whom reside in Clark County. Tagalog will be the third language, aside from English and Spanish, to be used in election materials in Clark County. OFA has a clear investment in AAPI communities, with a total of seven field offices in Las Vegas alone, which is located in Clark County.
Some speculate that because of poor voter turnout during the previous mid-term elections, as well as a likely loss of white swing independent voters supporting Obama, OFA will attempt to recapture base voters, particularly communities of color.
Toward the end of last year, OFA launched Operation Vote, a voter engagement and outreach program intended to expand support from ethnic groups. Operation Vote focuses on constituency groups for Obama, ranging from African Americans, women, to veterans, environmentalists, and most recently — Obama Pride — or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Americans for Obama.
Last month, OFA launched Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) for Obama. OFA is clearly making an effort to reach the largest of AAPI ethnic groups, with some campaign materials translated in languages such as Chinese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
AAPIs support Obama by a nearly five to one margin, ten to one among Indian Americans, and three to one among Korean Americans.
While various polls have come out recently focusing on the AAPI community’s preferences regarding political parties, there is still no substitute for having voters identify with staff and volunteers who share the same face, experience, and language, making voters more likely to vote for the candidate whose campaign actively reaches out to them.
Filipino American labor organizer and attorney, Mario Salazar, started off as a Deputy Field Organizer for OFA in Pennsylvania in 2008. Mario was recently promoted to Director of Nevada’s Operation Vote, a position vital to help win battleground states for the 2012 presidential election.
Mario’s presence in the campaign, like that of like other AAPI staff at OFA pictured in the video above, shows that OFA values inclusion and diversity on staff across various departments. But it’s less about marketing to a constituency group, and really about showing how AAPIs are a part of a larger family.
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