RELEASE: NAKASEC and Affiliates Announce National Precinct Walking Day and National Phone Banking Days to Urge AAPI Community to Get Out The Vote

For Immediate Release:
October 23, 2014

National Contact: Emily Kessel, NAKASEC, eakessel@nakasec.org
Virginia Contact: Dong Yoon Kim, NAKASEC, dkim@nakasec.org
Chicago Contact: Nayoung Ha, KRCC, nayoung@chicagokrcc.org
Los Angeles Contact: Esther Kim, KRC, esther@krcla.org

NAKASEC and Affiliates Announce National Precinct Walking Day and National Phone Banking Days to Urge AAPI Community to Get Out The Vote

NAKASEC, KRC, and KRCC will be calling and door knocking in California, Illinois, and Virginia

Annandale, VA- Today, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and its affiliates, the Korean Resource Center (KRC) in Los Angeles, California and the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC) in Chicago, announced that they would be engaging community members in California, Illinois, and Virginia for what they have named National Precinct Walking Day and National Phone Banking Day. Sam Yoon from the Council of Korean Americans in Virginia joined NAKASEC in the call to vote for immigrant families and to make the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) vote really count this year!

On October 26, NAKASEC, KRC, and KRCC, along with supporters and volunteers, will walk the neighborhoods with AAPI residents to encourage registered voters to vote on November 4, Election Day. Phone bankers will also be calling thousands of AAPI homes reminding them that their votes matter. As the fastest growing racial group in the United States, AAPI voters have the opportunity to demonstrate their electoral power by turning out to vote for the midterm elections.

Dae Joong (DJ) Yoon, Executive Director of NAKASEC said: “Manok Cha, a 76-year-old Korean American community member in Los Angeles, is a new voter who has been waiting to reunite with her family for 18 years. This year, NAKASEC, KRC, and KRCC are calling and visiting community member homes asking registered voters like Manok Cha to vote for family unity and the rights of immigrant families on November 4. Voting is one way to ensure that policymakers no longer ignore our community needs, and it is an opportunity to demonstrate our robust AAPI electoral power. Join us on Election Day by voting and urging your loved ones to vote, a right that is denied to far too many in our community.”

Sam Yoon, President of Council for Korean Americans said: “”All politicians and even our government are aware of who votes in every election. They do not know who we vote for. But they know whether or not we voted. They have always known that Korean Americans vote less often than other Americans. This is the main reason why we do not get the attention we deserve. If we care about comprehensive immigration reform, affordable health care, or any issue that affects us, we must do one simple act on Election Day: vote. It is our duty to our community and to our children.”

NAKASEC, KRC, and KRCC invite community partners, students, and families to join the door knocking and phone banking efforts on October 26 and 29 to tell the AAPI community to vote for our immigrant families this year and for America’s future.

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The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) was founded in 1994 by local community centers to project a progressive voice and promote the full participation of Korean Americans on major social justice issues. NAKASEC maintains offices in Annandale, Virginia and Los Angeles, California. NAKASEC has affiliates in Chicago (Korean American Resource & Cultural Center) and Los Angeles (Korean Resource Center).