Getting out the Vote
With the U.S. elections just around the corner, political campaigns
have
shifted into
the stage known as "getting out the vote" (GOTV).
The political parties and labor unions are also getting into the act
by
walking door to door and making calls urging people cast their ballots
on November 7.
In many ways, the last days before the election are the most critical
of any campaign. The United States traditionally has a shamefully low
voter turnout. Many people just don't go to the polls if they're too
tired or if it's snowing or raining outside.
Because many people don't take their vote as seriously as they should, GOTV is particularly important for the success of any candidate
or
ballot measure.
The upcoming elections are arguably one of the most important in the
history of Asian Pacific Americans. The 80-20 political action
committee, for example, was formed with the purpose of building up an
Asian bloc vote.
This hasn't been easy. The organization has come under fire
especially
from Asian Republicans.
There is also a large and vocal group of APAs supporting the Green
Party. Many of these people are former Democrats who don't like the
conservative swing in the Democratic Party.
The ability to deliver a bloc vote would be great, but we also have to
deal with reality. The fact is that the more APAs that
vote
and become active, the more clout we will have regardless if
this comes in the form of a bloc vote or not.
So regardless of what party one belongs to, if one belongs to a party
at all, the need is to activate the community to vote.
That means everyone putting at least a little effort to make sure
their
people go to the polls and vote.
The opportunity for Asian Pacific Americans to make significant progress
is there, and it should not be wasted. We can act now, or complain
later.
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