Asian American Organizing Project Engages Over 5000 for Midterm Elections

Asian American Organizing Project Engages Over 5000 for Midterm Elections

The Minnesota midterm elections concluded on the evening of Tuesday, November 6 with a voter turnout of 63.8%. This is the highest in any Minnesota midterm since 2002, the Secretary of State office writes, with over 2.5 million citizens voting at the polls and absentee. The ballots cast early for this year’s election was at an incredible 535,000 on November 5th and were more than twice of that from 2014!

Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP) has been engaging with young Asian American voters and their families on the 2018 midterm Elections right after the end of last year’s November 2017 Mayoral and Municipal Elections. The majority of the engagement has been on voter education and conversations through door knocking, phone banking, community events, and with coordinated events with coalition partners, Ignite Minnesota Asian Power (IMAP), and We Vote Minnesota coalition.

With over 130 seats up for Election, including seats for the Governor, Senate, and Attorney General, this midterm had large potential for Asian American voters to participate. Many were excited to cast their votes for officials who could politically represent them and their concerns on issues such as immigration, education, jobs, and healthcare.

In the 4 day span of the Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts, AAOP and community partners recruited over 200 volunteer shifts and attempted over 25,000 voter contact through the doors and phones, speaking with over 5,000 voters in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and the Metro Area. Additionally, AAOP was able to engage and provide voter education through social media.

Executive Director, Linda Her states, “This civic organizing effort was not possible without the critical love, struggle, and power of over 200 volunteer leaders and community members. We have over 300,000 Asian and Pacific Islanders who call Minnesota home, and this requires a lot of hard work to make sure young Asian American citizens and their families were able to access their vote and choices, and make an impact in this Minnesota Midterm Election.”

Though the Midterm Elections are over, civic organizing efforts for democracy doesn’t stop here. AAOP, along with our community partners, will host phone banks to do follow up conversations with Asian American voters about their voting experience at the polls and identify any issues or concerns. Leading into 2019, AAOP will support and lead the upcoming Get Out the Census 2020, which will include addressing the Citizenship Question. AAOP will be focused on bridging understanding with Asian American communities on Voting Rights, immigration issues, and Census 2020 to ensure all of our community is counted.

To learn more or join the work, visit aaopmn.org.

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Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP) is a grassroots nonpartisan nonprofit based in Minneapolis that focuses on building community power among young Asian Americans in the Twin Cities for a more democratic society.