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The electoral process in the United States has begun, and the participation of ethnic voters in the United States is essential. However, many people think that their community is not represented and that their vote does not make a difference. Therefore, leaders and organizations seek to inform and involve the community to help generate change.
Engaging ethnic communities and people of color in primary and general elections can be a difficult task, as voters of color, including Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans, are less consistent voters than whites on electoral issues because they do not feel a sense of belonging in the process.
This was pointed out by experts during an informative session held by Ethnic Media Services, where Ernie Serrano, integrated electoral participation organizer with Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) in South Los Angeles, commented that equitable justice on social, economic and environmental fronts is what makes these communities get involved.
In this regard, he stressed that work must be done on behalf of the community, ensuring that politics achieves social change and this must be done through the people who are most affected.
"That's our theory of the social, we are the ones who are directly affected by the conditions and we should be at the front of the battle, so to speak, and we should also have a seat at the table with their elected leaders. They are ruling our communities because they have a lot of leaders who were being elected, but obviously they are not involved, so they really have no interest in knowing the conditions, or in hearing our voice.", he warned.
Serrano said that hard work must be done to create the necessary conditions, because the Colo communities are not being served and are not informed about the policies or the electoral process.
“TWe have to go the extra mile to tell them why it's important to vote, there are many factors that come into play when it comes to why people are not only disengaged from the voting process, but also disillusioned.”, Serrano added.
Debbie Chen, a Houston community activist and executive vice president of OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates, commented on the importance of the Asian American vote.
"As far as civic engagement and the importance of voting for us, it actually starts with the census. It's not just about going to vote when election time comes because the census and redistricting happen as well.”, Chen said.
The majority of the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community are actually first-generation immigrants and similarly to other communities, so it is important to be counted.
The importance of participating and being counted is because each person in the census generates income that is returned to the community in some way and when one votes, one can choose how to spend that money and how it directly affects the place where one lives, he said.
"Because voting is essentially money, so you know your investment because your vote essentially gives you power and power is one of those words that we test in terms of our cultural organizing and community organizing around the importance of voting because power is not a word that we should be afraid of, that's why it's so important to get your community involved.”.
The AAPI community, the fastest growing community in percentage terms, for the Houston metropolitan area grew at a rate of 74 percent, while the overall rate for voting-age citizens only increased 21 percent.
It is troubling that neither party has traditionally invested in reaching out to the AAPI community, pretending not to matter or thinking it couldn't make a difference to election outcomes, and that is leaving votes on the table.
"The AAPI community may be a smaller percentage, nationally in some states, in some cities we have a higher concentration in some areas like greater Houston, there are certain pockets of concentration where AAPI can literally be that margin of difference when it comes to these closer races.”, said Debbie Chen.
This is an area of opportunity for candidates and parties to look at a group of people without considering, he said.
Anneshia Hardy, executive director of Alabama Values, a media advocacy organization, says young people are an underserved area and need to be empowered because they often feel their voices aren't counted.
"Voting is not just about choosing a candidate, it is about shaping the future of our communities, it is a powerful tool to express our values and drive change.", he pointed out Hardy.
The goal is to make voting truly relatable by connecting it to issues that matter, like social justice, healthcare, education, and more, simply by connecting to the needs of each community.
She said that even in the midst of trying to get people out to vote, they are struggling to ensure that everyone has adequate access to the ballot, coupled with misinformation that is a current threat.
In 2020, Alabama voters under the age of 45 made up 1.7 million of the voting-age population, but only 50 percent of those voters turned out to cast a ballot compared to 70 percent of eligible voters, resulting in 1.4 million eligible Alabama voters not voting.
Another point to consider is that many marginalized communities have the idea that by abstaining from voting they achieve more; they do not identify with any candidate or proposal and decide not to attend, this as part of a peaceful protest.
"It is crucial to recognize that many of these voters are disappointed, not because they undervalue their vote, but because they are aware of the systemic injustices and political failures that persist.", he concluded Anneshia Hardy.
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