ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN VOTE & APALA VOTE MOBILIZE ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN VOTERS LIKE NEVER BEFORE

New national poll on Asian American voters shows large undecideds, record interest

September 14, 2004

National Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) leaders were quick to respond to a new national, multilingual poll on APIA registered voters who are likely to vote. The poll by the New California Media group shows that Kerry leads Bush (43%-36%) but there are also a substantial number of undecided voters (20%) in the APIA community. Furthermore, 47% of APIAs stated that their top concern is jobs and the economy, while only 22% were primarily worried about terrorism or the war in Iraq. Over three-fifths of APIAs surveyed think that the 2004 election may be the most important election of their lifetime.

Christine Chen, Executive Director of the Organization of Chinese Americans, remarked, “The poll’s findings about record APIA interest in the 2004 elections demonstrates APIAVote’s success in engaging Asian Pacific Islander Americans across the country. We have outreached to all sectors of our community – seniors, youth, workers, and women - through our educational materials in multiple languages on issues like employment, education, immigration, and health care.”

Gloria Caoile, Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), said, “It is no wonder that the number one APIA issue is jobs and the economy – according to an APALA study, Asian Pacific Islander American unemployment is at 6.0% and the average duration of unemployment for APIAs is 23.9 weeks – longer than any other racial or ethnic group. We need a president who responds to and prioritizes the needs of APIA working families.”

Janelle Hu, National Coordinator of APIAVote, added, “To ensure that candidates pay attention to APIA issues, we have formed grassroots coalitions that have been conducting intense voter registration, education and mobilization efforts in Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Minnesota, and nationwide. Later this week we will release a treasure trove of information about key states like these with large Asian American voting populations. It is easy to see that our community is a crucial step in the race to the White House.”

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Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote is a national coalition of non-partisan nonprofit organizations that encourages civic participation and promotes a better understanding of public policy and the electoral process among the Asian and Pacific Islander American community. The national APIAVote partners are Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Hmong National Development, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Korean American Service and Education Consortium, Organization of Chinese Americans, Pi Alpha Phi Fraternity, Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force, South Asian American Voting Youth (list as of 5/4/04).

APIAVote was founded in 1996 and maintains its headquarters in Washington, D.C.