DNC targets AAPI voters in new campaign

GEARING UP for the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats kicked off a campaign to mobilize their voters, particularly Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. 


The Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday (Feb. 28) the launch of IWillVote - an unprecedented new campaign with four initiatives: Commit to Vote; Voter Registration; Voter Education and Protection; and Get-Out-The-Vote. Under the IWillVote program. The DNC aims to reach 50 million voters from now until November to engage, educate, and mobilize them to vote for Democrats up and down the ticket. 

The Asian/American and Pacific Islander community will be a crucial target in reaching these voters. The AAPI community is the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country and has been crucial to Democratic victories in numerous key elections over the years.

“In recent years, Asian Americans and Pacific Islander voters have been crucial to Democratic victories in swing states and districts across the country,” said AAPI Caucus Chair Bel Leong-Hong. 

“The IWillVote program is an innovative way to galvanize the extraordinary passion among AAPIs across the country. I know that this program will funnel this passion into results at the ballot box and I’m excited to be working with great leaders like DNC Chair Tom Perez and DNC Vice Chair Grace Meng to make it successful.”

“The American people have witnessed the relentless commitment of the Republican Party to discourage voting – from the creation of a sham fraud commission to systemic disenfranchisement of communities of color," said Perez.

In recent years, the U.S.Supreme Court dominated by Republican appointees rolled back elements of the landmark Voting Rights Act and in states where the GOP hold the majority, voter ID laws were enaacted, limited voting times and reduced the number of polling places. Through the Internet, parties apparently acting on behalf of GOP candidates, have sent out misinformation about voting eligibility and poll locations.

"The DNC has opposed those efforts at every step, and we are prepared to hit them where it hurts – the voting booth,” said Perez. 

Democrats have also not shown up in the voting booth in recent nonpresidential elections. In the most recent midterm elections, in 2014, 47 million fewer people voted than in 2012, when President Barack Obama was re-elected. That poor turnout allowed Republicans to win enough Congressional seats to retain control of the House and Senate.

AAPI voters lean heavily towards the Democrats in recent elections and the 2016 elections saw the AAPI vote overwhelmingly Democratic. 

Four out of five (79%) of Asian Americans polled voted for Hillary Clinton, 18% voted for Donald Trump, and 2% voted for another candidate. Of those surveyed, 59% were enrolled in the Democratic Party and 11% were enrolled in the Republican Party. More than a quarter of those polled (27%) were not enrolled in any political party, while 3% were enrolled in another party, according to a 2017 report by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

“Our first Commit to Vote program translates activism and marches into committing to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot this November and is designed to reach voters and communities across the country with new innovative tools and technologies, key partnerships, and online and on-the-ground organizing strategies. In partnership with our state parties and partners, the DNC will reach 50 million voters this year.”

In 2017, Democrat efforts to rally voters have made a difference in special elections. In Virginia, the mobilization drive saw a Democratic governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general elected and flipped 15 seats in the House of Delegates from red to blue. In Alabama, the state’s first Democratic senator in decades was elected. And since Trump's election, Democrats have flipped 39 state legislative seats, including some in districts that Trump won by double digits. 

The partners in the get-out-the-vote effort emphasizes younger voters and those independent groups that lean towards progressive issues and candidates. The following are some of the initial partners who will support the IWillVote efforts: ASPIRE PAC, Blue Future, BOLD PAC, CBC PAC, Collective PAC, College Democrats of America, Flippable, Future Forum, High School Democrats of America, Latino Victory Fund, Mobilize America, National Conference of Democratic Mayors and Democratic mayors from more than 30 cities, National Democratic Redistricting Committee, PODER PAC, Swing Left, Young Democrats of America.

“ASPIRE PAC is pleased to partner with the DNC’s IWillVote program in engaging AAPI voters and encouraging active participation in the Democratic Party,” said ASPIRE PAC Chair Meng, who represents New York City in Congress. “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest-growing populations in the country, and this program will help ensure that AAPI voices are heard at the polls in the midterm elections.”
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