Asian American Election Protection and Poll Monitoring

Tuesday September 15, 2009

Volunteers Needed.
Asian American Election Protection and Poll Monitoring
Defending Asian American Voting Rights in New York

Primary Elections - Tuesday, September 15, 2009 (Priority in Volunteer recruitment)
and/or General Elections - Tuesday, November 3, 2009 

In past elections, Asian Americans have faced a series of barriers in exercising their right to vote. For example, poll workers were hostile and made racist remarks, poll sites had too few interpreters to assist Asian American voters, and translated voting materials were missing. When the news media reports on election returns and the vote by specific groups, Asian Americans were often overlooked.
 
In response, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund has conducted a non-partisan survey of Asian American voters to document Asian American voting patterns. AALDEF has also monitored the elections for compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act, which mandates bilingual ballots and forbids anti-Asian voter discrimination.
 
On September 15, 2009 (priority in recruitment) and November 3, 2009, AALDEF, KALCA along with several other Asian American groups will be monitoring the elections and conducting non-partisan voter surveys at polling sites in Asian American neighborhoods across New York City. We need your help.
 
Volunteers are needed to administer a multilingual voter survey in 3-hour shifts and document voting problems on Election Day. Polls are generally open from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM.  There will be a one-hour training session for all volunteers on Thursday, September 10th at 7 pm at KALCA or you can attend a 90-minutes training session taking place at law firms on Wednesday, September 9th.  For lawyer volunteers, the 90 minute training session can constitute CLE credits (go to the website below for details).  All volunteers must be non-partisan during the time they help. 
 
To sign up and for a training schedule, go to www.aaldef.net and email sandy@kalca.org for follow up information.  Thank you!
 
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
CO-SPONSORS:
Asian American Bar Association of New York
Korean American Association of Greater New York
Korean American League for Civic Action
Muslim American Bar Association of New York
South Asian Bar Association of New York
South Asian Youth Action!
The Sikh Coalition
YKASEC: Empowering Korean American Community