Vietnamese American is running for Georgia Secretary of State

FACEBOOK

Bee Nguyen wants Georgia to lead the country in voting rights.

A Vietnamese American wants to become Secretary of State of Georgia, which recently passed laws making it harder to vote.

“Republicans have done everything in their power to silence the voices of voters who chose an America that works for all of us and not just some of us,” said State Rep. Bee Nguyen, who is challenging incumbent Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “But we will not allow anyone to stand in the way of our right to a fair and free democracy.”

On May 3, Tuesday, Georgia Democrat Bee Nguyen, 39, announced her campaign to become the Georgia Secretary of State, running on a promise to expand voting rights in the state that has been a central battleground in the fight over voter suppression in recent years. 

If she wins the election, Nguyen, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, would be the first Asian American elected to statewide political office in Georgia history.

Georgia Supreme Court Justice Carla Wong McMillian became the first Asian American to win statewide in 2014 when she was elected to the appellate bench

However, Bee made history in 2017 when she was elected as the first Asian American Democratic woman to the Georgia General Assembly in House District 89, the seat formerly held by Stacey Abrams. 

At the Georgia State Capitol, Bee is a leading advocate for voting rights, public education, and criminal justice reform. She successfully overturned the “exact match” voter registration law and restored the right to vote for the 53,000 Georgians impacted by the policy.

With Nguyen's entry into the race, Raffensperger finds himself caught between the progressive Nguyen and U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who is supported by Donald Trump.

Trump vowed to campaign against Raffensperger when the current Secretary of State after he refused to commit election fraud to help Trump win Georgia during the ballot recount in the state. 

On the now-infamous phone call during the ballot counting, Trump urged Raffensperger to “find” more votes for him, suggesting that the Secretary, who was in charge of the election count, say that he’s “recalculated.” 

“Well, Mr. President," responded Raffensperger, "the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong.” 

The recording is potentially incriminating evidence in the Secretary of State's ongoing investigation against Trump for trying to alter the voting results.

Republican's are worried that Georgia, long considered a sure Republican bulwark against the Democrats, is showing signs of leaning towards Democrats in recent elections. In 2020, Georgia voted for Biden and in the 2021 special election for the state's senators, voters opted for the two Democratic challengers.

The 2020 elections saw an unprecedented increase in voting by the AAPI electorate, which was part of the strategy of the Democrats, led by Stacey Abrams. Nguyen, an Abrams ally, was instrumental in encouraging Asian Americans to vote.

The voting restrictions passed in March by the state legislature, still controlled by the Republicans, are an attempt to restrict voting. Opponents have likened the law to the Jim Crow laws that made it more difficult for Blacks to vote. The law's passage was one of the reasons Nguyen decided to challenge Raffensperger's re-election bid.

Democrats and civil-rights groups panned the voting bill, which includes requiring voter I.D., made it a violation to offer water or food to people waiting in line to vote, and put more limits on early voting. 

Nguyen said she would “ensure that all Georgians have the right to participate in our democracy and for Georgia to lead the country on voting rights — not on voter suppression,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Under her watch, Nguyen added, the office would “prioritize accessibility, efficiency and equity.”