TWIN CITIES, MINNESOTA – From October 31 to November 3, Ignite Minnesota Asian Power (IMAP) coalition members reached out to 83,272 Asian and immigrant community members in Minnesota to mobilize our community to vote.
Over the course of Get Out the Vote (GOTV), IMAP recruited 477 volunteer shifts and spoke to 5,880 Asian and immigrant community members over the phone and through relational organizing.
The onset of the pandemic influenced the way we voted. Many voter engagement efforts pivoted to focus on absentee ballots and remote outreach. Each state set their respective deadlines to accept absentee ballots and election offices are understaffed due to the pandemic.
Through hundreds of paid staff and volunteer hours, the IMAP coalition provided Asian and immigrant communities the information and assistance needed to cast their votes in a challenging and rapidly evolving election season.
While Election Night means that the last day to vote is over, results won’t be finalized right away. The extra time it takes to count votes allows for safe voting and the assurance that all votes are counted.
CAPI USA Director of Public Policy Kristina Doan states, “Through our direct efforts to call and speak to voters, we’ve been able to communicate vital information in-language on where to vote, how to turn in ballots, and how to vote safely. We’ve also emphasized the need to be patient as votes are counted–it’s all part of the process, it’s normal. This election is like none other we’ve seen, during circumstances most of us have never experienced, and, having each vote counted is critical to the final result.”
Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP) Executive Director Linda Her states, “The record number of 1.8 million absentee ballots submitted as of November 3rd this year means that many votes are still being counted — and that’s okay. This is a sign of our democracy at work. Before Elections Office staff can even count the ballots, they need to process and verify them — meaning that it will take longer to ensure an accurate count. We know that to ensure the integrity of our democracy, each and every vote must be counted before a final result can be announced.”
Coalition members include: Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP), CAPI-USA, Pillsbury United Communities, Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL), Hmong Americans for Justice (HAJ), Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL), ReleaseMN8, Filipinx for Immigrant Rights and Racial justice Minnesota (FIRM), Karen Organization of Minnesota (KOM), SEWA-AIFW, Siengkane Lao (SKL-MN), and Vietnamese Social Services (VSS).
Media Contact:
leyen trang
AAOP Communications & Digital Director
leyen@aaopmn.org
Monique Hernandez
CAPI Development and Communications Manager
monique.hernandez@capiusa.org
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