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Korean American Vote 2004 Campaign

By March 28, 2006No Comments

During the last stretch of the November 2004 Presidential Elections, NAKASEC and its affiliates spearheaded aggressive education and outreach efforts to Korean American voters in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.The publication of “Vote 2004:How Our Government Works and the Electoral Process,” a Korean language election guide co-produced by NAKASEC and its affiliates, further enhanced our efforts.70,000 copies of the guidebooks were mailed and distributed to Korean American communities including New York, Illinois, California, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Oregon.Below are specific highlights of the voter empowerment work that NAKASEC affiliates have conducted during the month of October:

New York
In October, YKASEC-Empowering the Korean American Community completed its database of Korean American voters in New York City.Findings included almost 20,000 active Korean American voters with most of them residing in Queens County.This project, which took two years to complete, is a landmark feat – it is the first ever database of its kind.The completion also allowed YKASEC to mail out over 15,000 copies of the Vote 2004 guidebooks to Korean American voters.Through the database, which also profiles Korean American voters by geographical regions, age, and sex, YKASEC will be able to conduct more concrete education to the community and forge a more strategic, comprehensive voter empowerment campaign in the near future.

Chicago
Since mid July, KRCC has led a very ambitious, community-wide campaign entitled “Korean American Vote 2004.”Endorsed by 20 different organizations, KRCC went on to register over 1,400 new Korean American voters and educated over 4,000 voters through their Korean-language Voter Hotline, media events, neighborhood canvassing, community forums, and walk-in workshops.Moreover, KRCC mailed election material flyers to 2,500 Korean American voters in the greater Chicago area, and also distributed 2,000 copies of the Vote 2004 guidebooks.

Los Angeles
In efforts to increase Korean American voter turnout, KRC went on to register over 2,000 new Korean Americans voters in time for the 2004 Presidential Elections.KRC’s voter empowerment initiative was further strengthened by strong coalition work.KRC was part of local efforts through APIA Vote!, Mobilize Immigrant Vote (MIV), and the Korean American Political Awareness Movement (KPAM).KRC’s work was further highlighted by its Vote 101 classes that ran three times during the last week leading up to Election Day.KRC also mailed 10,000 copies of the Vote 2004 guidebooks that included other election materials such as GOTV flyers, Know Your Rights palm cards, and fact sheet on California state ballot initiatives.

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