Voter Education
APAs have displayed a tendency to
vote by issues, as opposed to voting by
party-affiliation. An exit poll conducted by
the Asian American Legal Defense and Education
Fund (AALDEF) for the 2006 election underscores
the high proportion of APA independents.
Furthermore, the exit poll demonstrated
the willingness of APAs that are registered to
a particular party to “cross over” and vote for
a candidate from a different party, depending
on the candidate’s position on issues that are
important to APA voters. This provides APALA
with the opportunity to engage and educate APAs
regarding specific issues.
Activities for the 2008 Elections
included:
1. Organized nonpartisan issue and
candidate forums;
2. Sent direct mail in-language to
APA households;
3. Encouraged local and mainstream
media to cover APA issues; and
4. Encouraged community members to
submit letters to the editor and opinion
editorials on the
importance of voter
engagement.