Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The recent Illinois primary elections saw a record turnout of members of the South Asian community thanks primarily to tireless work of community organizations to mobilize the electorate.
For the March 15 Illinois Democratic Primary Elections, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago and South Asian American Policy and Research Institute contacted over 7,600 infrequent South Asian voters in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Election Day was the culmination of a two-month effort that included community forums, direct mail, telephone, and media outreach to motivate participation. Due to their efforts more than 2,500 inactive South Asians voted in the primary elections.
“South Asians have been the target of hate speech by multiple candidates this election season, and today the community showed that such messaging won’t be tolerated,” said Reema Kapur of SAAPRI. “There are over 92,000 Asian Americans in the 8th Congressional District, and over 43,000 of them are South Asians, so our community has a vested interest in this race, “stated Reema Kapur of SAAPRI. The 8th Congressional District includes Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove Village, Roselle, and Bloomingdale.
The candidates for election included a South Asian American, Raja Krishnamoorthi, who easily secured the Democratic nomination in the 8th District primary election with more than 60 percent of the votes. “The strong mobilization occurred due to our sincere approach towards community engagement and relaying the message that the Indian community deserves respect in the political process. This message resonated very well with the Indian- American community and everyone came out to support us. We are certain that the support will not only continue but increase as we look forward to the November elections. Now our community members know that if they show up in November, they can decide the winner,” said Jitendra Diganvker, Indian-American community leader from the Indian’s for Raja group.
SAAPRI and Advancing Justice Chicago will continue outreach to the community in the weeks leading up to Asian-American Action Day in May, 2016, which focuses on state-level efforts, and again for the General Elections in November.
“Civic engagement is not a one-day event when we go to Springfield for Asian-American Action Day May 17. We want South Asian-Americans to be a huge part of the crowd,” said Tuyet Le of Advancing Justice Chicago. “As part of our community’s push to build power, we will be supporting measures, including automatic voter registration which will add thousands of new voters to the rolls” said Kapur.
The Indo-American Center also engaged its staff, volunteers, and clients in the democratic process by heading to the polls. IAC staff and clients went to the 50th Ward early voting site at Warren Park to cast their vote in the primary election.
Over the past few months, IAC staff and volunteers increased their voter engagement efforts to include voter registration, neighborhood canvassing, phone banking, get-out-the-vote events, and voter education events. As the General Election approaches, IAC will expand these voter mobilization efforts to help get out the South Asian vote.
“Historically, South Asian voter turnout is low. We need to increase our voter turnout in order for the elected officials to pay attention to our issues. In this election cycle, Asian-Americans as a voting bloc have barely been mentioned in the mainstream media and by the presidential candidates, because our turnout is low,” said Selma D’Souza, IAC’s executive director.
IAC is addressing the issue of low voter-turnout through their new civic engagement program led by Tanvi Shah. “We hope to empower and strengthen the communities we serve through nonpartisan voter engagement efforts that help clients become active members of their community,” said Shah.
The post Record Turnout Of South Asian Voters Claimed In Illinois Primary appeared first on News India Times.