Signature Projects for 2004:

I. The National Campaign will forge coalitions among APIA organizations nationally and at the grassroots level in various cities across the country, facilitate the dissemination of uniform multilingual materials, and provide a national forum for a comprehensive public and media relations campaign.

APIAVote will also coordinate voter registration, education and mobilization campaigns in selected regions in nine states in where APIAs have the highest concentration of eligible voters. Host to statewide elections and a large APIA population, these regions are generating considerable interest within the APIA community. The focus on organizing local coalitions and efforts will be in these nine regions, but activities are not limited to these areas:

The National Campaign will amplify the efforts of local coalitions by reducing the amount of redundant work through centralization, developing effective messages on how to reach voters and get them to the polls, and providing current information about the national and grassroots efforts of APIAs mobilizing the community.

II. Voter Registration Drives will fulfill the need to provide more opportunities for the APIA community to learn about the electoral process and to register to vote. The national effort will provide technical assistance and organize trainings for regional coalitions. Bilingual educational and promotional materials will be provided for these drives. A toll free multi-lingual assistance voter hotline, 1-888-API-VOTE, will allow requests for voter registration materials to be taken in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, and Hmong. A How-To Starter Kit will provide community leaders and volunteers basic information and tips on how to effectively register their family, friends and community.

III. The Voter Education Project will develop and use language specific materials and resources for the APIA community to empower themselves with the knowledge and understanding of how important voting is and how it impacts their daily lives.

The development of a media and educational campaign will include the creation and placement of posters and public service announcements for ethnic print media, television and radio. Additionally, multi-lingual election guides explaining the electoral process, voting rights palm cards explaining the voting rights of minority and limited English proficient voters, and voting 101 brochures discussing the basic mechanics of voting and obtaining absentee ballots will be created. Partnerships with ethnic media will be developed, and many of these materials will be available on our website at www.apiavote.org.

A 20-page Voter Guide has been developed to explain the history of enfranchisement, the importance of political participation, federal government role and structure, federal electoral process (primaries, caucuses, electoral colleges), federal budget and budget process and how a bill becomes law. This publication is designed to educate and increase political participation of APIAs in the elections. This handbook will be particularly helpful to newly registered voters, elderly voters and limited English proficient voters. It will be translated in various languages.

Candidate forums, issue forums and town hall meetings will be scheduled for the next several months . These specially designed programs will allow the APIA community to address our concern to candidates and allow time for the candidates to outreach to the community. The Call to Action: Platform for Asian Pacific Americans National Policy Priorities will be a tool used by the community to hold candidates accountable in addressing the community’s issues. The policy priorities outlined in the Platform include issues concerning: economic empowerment; community and economic development; education; health care; civil rights; immigration; language access; worker’s rights; women; senior citizens; data collection; and technology. An abridged version of the Platform, specifically highlighting the issues affecting APIA communities at the local level, will be created.

Register and Go Vote…
For Yourself, Your Family, Your Community!

IV. The Get-Out-The-Vote Efforts will include coordination of volunteers to phone bank to remind community members to GO and VOTE. The creation of a national database of APIA voters will allow APIAVote to effectively coordinate a national mail program and phone banking program for voter education and mobilization. Transportation will be organized locally for those unable to physically travel to their polling place. Efforts will be made to reach segments of the population that normally do not actively participate, such as the youth and elderly, to increase their participation.

V. Youth Outreach will focus on recruiting the younger generation for participation in all these activities. Outreach activities and workshops are currently being implemented into the programs of over 15 different national and regional youth conferences. APIAVote is looking to train these students to serve as local organizers for this effort. In addition, APIAVote is a member of the executive committee for Youth Vote. It is the largest non-partisan coalition committed to encouraging civic participation among our nation's young people. Directed by our Board and fueled by the power of our coalition members' extensive national networks, Youth Vote is demanding accountability by politicians on the issues of importance to young people today.

VI. Often left out of many national surveys including many Census related studies, the development of additional Research and Polling will increase the level of understanding about APIAs and their political participation through exit polls and attitudinal surveys. The collection of data on the opinions of APIAs will be used for educating the mainstream population about the community and for establishing basic demographic data required for such endeavors as redistricting. The research will be implemented in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, and other areas where the APIA community is seen as an emerging community.

VII. Aspiring to serve as the National Clearinghouse on APIA voters, APIAVote will compile comprehensive APIA voter files for the nine designated states discussed above. These files will be maintained in a national database from which APIA voting patterns can be extrapolated and evaluated for future research and education outreach efforts.

VIII. Infrastructure Building will be a priority for APIAVote in its effort to support civic participation and electoral participation from the APIA community that will continue even after the 2004 elections. Mini-grants will be provided to coalitions and communities who have demonstrated efforts in creating a local program.

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