Political Action
As one of the fastest growing populations in the country, the potential to increase the collective political empowerment for Asian Pacific Americans is increasing as well. The 2008 Every Vote Counts program furthers the mission of APALA by supporting APA involvement in nonpartisan electoral activities in local, statewide, and national elections.
APALA’s Every
Vote Counts non-partisan political program
targeted Asian Pacific American (APA) voters in
seven states during the 2008 Presidential
Election.
APALA selected Michigan, Nevada, Ohio,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington
based on their distinction as AFL-CIO
battleground states that have experienced
significant increases in their APA population.
During the 2008
Presidential Election, APALA targeted close to
100,000 infrequent APA voters through a myriad
of tactics. APALA mailed over 100,000
pieces of direct mail, attempted over 120,000
live phone calls, contacted close to 30,000
voters, canvassed over 1,800 households,
successfully registered close to 2,000 new
voters, monitored 9 polling locations on
election day, and organized close to 20
candidate/issue forums. The
direct mail was sent in English, Chinese,
Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese.
Volunteers conducted live phone calls
and canvassed doors in English, Cantonese,
Mandarin, Korean, Tagalog and
Vietnamese.
|
Program Results:
Every Vote
Counts | |||||||
|
State |
Target
Universe |
Registered
Voters |
Literature &
Direct Mail |
Doors
Canvassed |
Phone
Calls |
Contacts |
Poll
Monitoring |
|
MI |
15,000 |
980 |
40,000 |
250 |
10,000 |
2,172 |
4 poll
sites |
|
NV |
7,631 |
450 |
5,000 |
534 |
37,000 |
12,364 |
3 poll
sites |
|
OH |
5,000 |
100 |
2,500 |
- |
2,000 |
472 |
- |
|
OR |
5,000 |
250 |
3,000 |
50 |
1,000 |
180 |
- |
|
PA |
15,000 |
- |
- |
- |
16,200 |
1,639 |
- |
|
VA |
25,000 |
50 |
36,000 |
1,000 |
42,000 |
8,009 |
2 poll
sites |
|
WA |
20,000 |
150 |
20,000 |
- |
12,000 |
2,400 |
- |
|
Total |
92,631 |
1,855 |
106,500 |
1,834 |
120,200 |
27,236 |
9 poll
sites |
APALA, in close partnership
with national and local allies, generated
earned national, local and ethnic media
bringing increased attention to the APA
electorate. This coverage included print
media in the Washington Post, print and
television coverage on BBC, television coverage
on CNN and ABC, and a host of local and ethnic
print coverage.