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NAKASEC Recaps on Recent Voter Engagement Activities

By August 9, 2017September 13th, 2017No Comments

NAKASEC Recaps on Recent Voter Engagement Activities
Health Care Access and Education Funding Among the Top Issues Asian Americans Urge State Elected Officials to Address

ANNANDALE, VA — From May to June, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) talked to Asian American voters in Virginia to encourage them to vote in the June Primaries and November General Election, as well as to conduct a survey to find out what issues they think state leaders should address.  Among Korean American voters, the top issue area that they hope state leaders address was health care access; among young Asian American voters, the top issue area was funding for public education.  

There are over 26,000 Korean American voters in Virginia and 14,000 young Asian Americans who vote infrequently in Northern Virginia. Our Fall program will focus on educating and engaging them for the November election.  Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group and voting block throughout the United States. In Virginia, the Asian American vote share increased 19% since 2012. Asian Americans are also major contributors to the margin of difference that win critical elections. For example, in the 2012 presidential election, President Obama’s margin of victory in the state of Virginia was 3%; Asian American voters comprised 3.7% of the state’s voting share.

We are now recruiting volunteers of all ages and part-time canvassers to join us for our revamped civic engagement work, which will begin in early September. To volunteer or apply for a part-time position, please contact Sookyung Oh at soh@nakasec.org.  

Sookyung Oh, D.C. Area Director of NAKASEC, said: “Asian American voters in Virginia are not single-issue voters. Rather, if candidates want our votes, they must articulate a clear vision and policy platform on expanding health care access, making college more affordable, raising wages, and addressing immigrant rights.  We also found that many community members were not aware of the election this year or the seats that are up for election, which makes educating and engaging voters so much more vital.”

  

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National Korean American Service & Education Consortium
Founded in 1994, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)’s mission is to organize Korean and Asian Americans to achieve social, economic, and racial justice.  NAKASEC maintains offices in Annandale, Virginia and Los Angeles, California. NAKASEC has affiliates in Chicago (Hana Center) and Los Angeles and Orange County (Korean Resource Center). For NAKASEC photos and videos, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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