Poll: Georgia's Asian American voters decisively cast their ballots for Warnock

Sen. Raphael Warnock

While the final talley for Georgia's US Senator seat was close by a 2% difference, Asian American voters overwhelmingly cast their ballots in favor of incumbent US Senator Raphael Warnock in the runoff election according to exit polls conducted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

Asian American voters’ support for Warnock over football legend Herschel Walker in Georgia's runoff grew even stronger in the month since the Nov. 8 election and the runoff election on Dec. 6. In theNovember 8 General Election, 60.1% voted for the incumbent. For the Dec.  6 runoff, Warnock captured 78% of the Asian American vote.

“The Senate runoff in Georgia was a critical election, not just for the state but also for the entire country. Georgians have given Senate Democrats a 51 to 49 majority that will affect our national policy for the coming years. For Asian American voters in Georgia, health care and specifically abortion access proved to be a critical issue strongly influencing their vote,” said Margaret Fung, executive director of AALDEF.

AALDEF released results Thursday of its nonpartisan, multilingual survey of 337 Asian American voters.

The overwhelming support from Asian American voters may have tilted the final results in Warnock's favor. Among the give Asian American ethnicities polled, Bangladeshi, Asian Indian and Vietnamese were adamant who they preferred. South Asians are the largest Asian group in the state.

Polling was conducted at five key sites for Asian American voters in DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Voters were surveyed in English, as well as 4 Asian languages: Bengali, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Volunteers also monitored for compliance with the language assistance provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act, and to guard against anti-Asian discrimination and intimidation.

AALDEF attorneys and volunteers observed several problems on election day, such as voters being redirected to different poll sites, being sent to incorrect poll sites, and  voters not being provided provisional ballots.

Other results of the exit poll included:

The five largest Asian American national origin groups in the survey supported  Warnock:

• Bangladeshi: 96.3% Warnock, 3.7% Walker

• Asian Indian: 83.3% Warnock, 14.1% Walker

• Vietnamese: 80.0% Warnock, 20.0% Walker

• Korean: 64.8% Warnock, 35.2% Walker

• Chinese: 61.5% Warnock, 38.5% Walker

Warnock's support was strongest among all age groups. Younger voters were stronger in their support of Warnock and his support tapered off only slightly among older voters.

• Asian American voters aged 18-29 voted Warnock 92.0% and Walker 6.7%.

• Asian American voters aged 30-39 voted Warnock 87.5% and Walker 12.5%.

• Asian American voters aged 40-49 voted Warnock 84.9% and Walker 15.1%.

• Asian American voters aged 50-59 voted Warnock 66.1% and Walker 33.9%.

• Asian American voters aged 60-69 voted Warnock 71.9% and Walker 25.0%.

• Asian American voters aged 70 and over voted Warnock 37.5% and Walker 62.5%.

“Asian Americans were nearly unified in their support of Raphael Warnock for Senate and were likely the difference in this extremely close election. Unfortunately, too many Asian American voters were sent to the wrong poll site and were not given provisional ballots,” said Jerry Vattamala, director of AALDEF’s Democracy Program.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

New Jersey seeks to bolster AAPI lawmakers in the state legislature.

The New Jersey state legislature could add to the number of AAPI legislators Tuesday if the influential Asian American electorate exercise their right to vote.

Inspired by a surge of anti-Asian hate crimes that followed slurs about the "China virus," more Asian American candidates are shedding a cultural reluctance to make waves and stepping up to have their voices heard.

Rep. Andy Kim, the first Asian American elected to Congress in New Jersey in 20218, launched a political action committee to make sure he won't be the last. His In Our Hands PAC endorsed six Asian Americans running for office today, Tuesday, November 2

“This group of outstanding and diverse candidates are perfect examples of New Jersey’s growing AAPI population and diversity across the state,” Kim said. “When I started In Our Hands I wanted to focus on finding, recruiting, training, and building a strong, diverse pipeline of talent. These candidates show me that the future of AAPI leadership in New Jersey is bright, and I am confident each of them will make outstanding public servants.”

His PAC, launched to help Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders running for public officeis endorsing Edison mayoral candidate Sam Joshi and five Democratic candidates for the New Jersey State Assembly.

Kim’s PAC is backing former Montgomery Mayor Sadaf Jaffer for an open State Assembly 16th District, Tenafly Democratic Municipal Chair Shama Haider and former Englewood Cliffs Councilwoman Ellen Park for open Assembly seats in the 37th District.

Also earning endorsements from In Our Hands were two Democrats in more competitive districts: New Jersey NOW president Anjali Mehrotra for District 21, and Karlito Almeda, staff member of Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, in District 39.

“What I’m trying to do is really change what is possible," said Kim, who was elected in 2018 as the first Korean American Democrat in Congress. "I want Asian Americans to understand that we can be leaders in our communities.”

New Jersey already has three AAPI state lawmakers -- State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth), Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (D-Hudson) and Assemblyman Sterley Stanley (D-Middlesex).

About 1.05 million New Jersey residents identified as Asian, either whole or in part, according to the 2021 Census, representing about 11% of the total population. 

I voted today; vote no on recall

California Governor Gavin Newsom reaches out to the AAPI electorate.

OPINION

I mailed in my ballot today. I voted "no" against the recall of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

There are only two questions on the ballot. 1. Should Gov. Gavin Newsome by recalled; and 2. Who should replace him. Voters are asked to select the next governor from dozens of candidates ranging from transgender advocate Caitlyn Jenner to former San Diego Mayor Falconer to conservative talk show host Larry Elder.

Correction: This just in. “As the subject of the recall cannot be a candidate, a write-in vote for Newsom would not be counted,” a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office said in an email. “Only certified write-in candidates are counted.” Ignore the following paragraph.

Just in case the extremists are able to motivate enough of the disgruntled Donald Trump suppoerters, Q-anon followers, anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers and generally those against the democratic process are successful in ousting the governor, on the second item of the special election ballot, I wrote in the name of Gavin Newsom as the person I would elect as governor.

According to FiveThirtyEight, the candidate with the most voter appeal is Elder, who polled with 19% of the vote. It is possible that Newsom could be recalled with 49% of the vote and his successor would garner only 19% of the vote, or less,

Election day is Sept. 14 when people can go to the polls and vote in person, but Californians are allowed to begin mailing in their ballots or drop them off in secure, specified ballot boxes up to and including Sept. 15. If voters don't want to join the rush to vote on Sept. 14, early voting begins the weekend before at specific polling places.

In my Bay Area county, 91% of the ballots cast in the November 2020 election were sent in by mail and there were zero instances of voter fraud, as was the case in the rest of California. 

Democracy is not a bystander sport. It demands the participation of a well-informed citizenry. Thus, the act of voting should be encouraged and made easier. In this solidly blue state, Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans, but there's a sizable group who label themselves as independent voters, who lean Democrat but are fickle and are open to the arguments of fears and lies generated by the recall backers.

What looked like an easy victory for Newsom in the Spring has narrowed to a single percentage point in recent days. According to the FiveThirtyEight, a nonpartisan tracker of polls, as of Aug. 17, 47.6% of those likely to cast their ballots would vote to oust the governor; while those 48.8% would keep Newsom in office. Basically, a dead heat.

Although the state voted overwhelmingly Democratic in picking Joe Biden for President and former California Attorney General Kamala Harris as his running mate, the Democratic Party is worried that voter apathy could work against Newsom.

While the recall backers are excited and energized about their efforts, thus far, too many Democrat voters are not informed at what is at stake and the early media portrayal of a Newsom landslide victory may have made too many smug or have an attitude that their vote would not change the outcome.

Recall supporters know that people are angry about all the inconvenieces caused by the pandemic, state taxes and environmental mitigation efforts. Throw in the Republicans who can't win a statewide office and those who see the recall as a way to strike back at the Democratic governor. Then add those voters who don't like the demographic change in their state that has made California one of three states where whites are not in the majority.

That's a lot of anger and, it turns out, that's a lot of votes.

Newsom and the Democrats have lost some of that swagger from earlier in the year. Just making Democrats nervous is a win in itself believe some Republicans. A virtual dead heat makes every vote count and that's why Newsom in fighting for his political life..

California ballots are available in a number of Asian languages.

The governor is in campaign mode, making every effort to reach out to Hispanic and Asian voters for their support and to energize younger voters and the Democratic base. In a series of events reaching out to the AAPI community, Newsom was introduced by Attorney General Rob Bonta, who was appointed by Newsom in March to become California's first AG of Filipino descent.

“Gavin is a champion for APIs in California, and time and time again he’s put the needs of our families and our communities front and center,” said Bonta, in the virtual press conference.

“When the pandemic hit, Governor Newsom acted quickly to protect our families and most vulnerable community members,” Bonta added. “He listened to the experts, doctors and scientists. He followed data and evidence, and when Donald Trump used the pandemic to spew hate and anti-Asian rhetoric, Governor Newsom stood up and defended our communities.”

Newsom was one of the first public officials to speak out against the hate acts directed at AAPI. California, with over 6 million APPI residents, also has the overwhelming number of anti-Asian hate incidents, according to Stop AAPI Hate, a San Francisco-based community-based organization that has collected over 9,000 reports of anti-AAPI hate since March 2020.

“We’ve been very consistent in calling [anti-Asian hate crimes] out, and using the bully pulpit…and I was one of the first governors in the country to do that and push back against Trump and the rhetoric he was spewing as it relates to anti-Asian hate.”

Besides appointing Bonta, the state's top law enforcement official, Newsom also signed the $156.5 API Equity Budget, which puts into place a number of initiatives to combat the anti-AAPI hate that continues to surge through the state's AAPI community.

Almost all -- 124 -- of California's AAPI elected office holders statewide have officially come out against the recall attempt.

“I am very proud of this state, where 27% of us are foreign-born. We’re majority minority-born. We celebrate, we don’t just tolerate that diversity,” said Newsom during the press briefing.

A word of caution: This news article is laced with my personal opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to form their own opinion.

New York City's AAPI vote split up in the mayoral race

Asian American voters turned out to vote in the Democratic primary in New York City.

If there is one thing AAPI observers can take away from the recent mayoral election in New York City, it’s to stop thinking of AAPI voters as a monolith. New York City's AAPI voters were split in voting for the city's new mayor.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) today released results of its nonpartisan multilingual exit poll of 1,386 Asian American voters in the NYC Primary Elections on June 22. 

“Asian Americans in New York City made their voices heard last week. As we suspected, many Asian American voters have been victims of anti-Asian violence and selected it as a top issue in deciding their choice for mayor," said Margaret Fung, AALDEF executive director.

Although Andrew Yang led in early polling, he eventually began dropping in the polls in the later months. On election evening, he dropped out early after vote counting began, finishing fourth among the crowded field. The Democratic nomination for mayor was eventually won by Eric Adams.

According to the AALDEF findings, Asian Americans (primarily Chinese and Koreans) favored Andrew Yang (68% and 50%, respectively) as their first-choice candidate in a crowded mayoral race, with Kathryn Garcia (21%) as their second-choice candidate.

However, Bangladeshi American voters favored Eric Adams (40%) as their first choice and Asian Indian voters favored Maya Wiley (33%) as their first choice.

For the first time, ranked choice voting was used in the mayoral, comptroller, public advocate, city council, and borough president races.

AALDEF volunteers, including attorneys and community advocates, surveyed Asian American voters at 16 poll sites in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. The multilingual exit poll included questions regarding voters’ first and second choices for mayor, ranked choice voting’s ease of use, and experience with anti-Asian violence and harassment. Voters were surveyed in English, Chinese, Korean, and Bengali.

Asian Americans' mixed views on Yang "show how not monolithic the Asian American community is," Kim Neal, chief adviser for AAPI-GNY Affairs at Yang's campaign and a Taiwanese American herself, told Nikkei Asia

"Because the Asian American community is so diverse, I don't know if there is the right Asian American to take a mantle on the political front," he said. "I think the bigger question that begs to be asked is should we really define one size fits all, or do we just see more Asian Americans occupying different lanes of the political spectrum and then identify with somebody who is Asian American and fits their political needs."

For the first time, ranked choice voting was used in the mayoral, comptroller, public advocate, city council, and borough president races.

“Asian American voters were able to vote effectively with ranked choice voting, just as they did decades ago for NYC school board elections. However, there was some confusion around ID requirements at Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens, and voters at PS130M in Chinatown were improperly required to discard candidate palm cards, which should have been allowed to be brought into the polling site to aid in voting.” said Jerry Vattamala, AALDEF Democracy Program Director.

AALDEF volunteers, including attorneys and community advocates, surveyed Asian American voters at 16 poll sites in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. The multilingual exit poll included questions regarding voters’ first and second choices for mayor, ranked choice voting’s ease of use, and experience with anti-Asian violence and harassment. Voters were surveyed in English, Chinese, Korean, and Bengali.

Other highlights of the AALDEF poll included: 

• The canvassers found that the top three issues influencing the Asian American vote for Mayor were: Economy/Jobs (27%) followed by Anti-Asian Violence (26%). Other (including Public Safety, NYPD Reform, and Political Representation) (16%)

• Yang was the most popular as a first-choice candidate with voters 50 years old and older: ages 50-59, Yang took 54% of the vote; 60-69, 69% and 70+, 73%

• Ranked Choice Voting (ease of use): 89% found it Easy; 5% found it Difficult/Don’t Know; and 1% found it Very Difficult

• Of all voters surveyed, 22% reported experiencing Anti-Asian violence/harassment, and of those: 60% suffered verbal harassment/racial slurs; 13% were other types of anti-Asian violence/harassment; and 8% were physically assaulted

AALDEF

Volunteers did exit polling for the Asian American Legal Defense Education Fund.

AALDEF will again conduct the Asian American Exit Poll and Poll Monitoring Program for the November 2, 2021 General Elections in New York City. AALDEF has conducted the Asian American Exit Poll in every major election since 1988.

AALDEF would like to acknowledge our community partners and volunteers: Adhikaar, Chinese-American Planning Council, Chhaya CDC, and MinKwon Center for Community Action for co-sponsoring this effort, as well as attorneys and community volunteers from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Hogan Lovells, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Ropes & Gray LLP, Shearman & Sterling LLP, WilmerHale, and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance.

2020 Review: Phew! That was one helluva year

ANALYSIS

2020 didn't turn out exactly  the way I thought it would. A year ago when I wrote the post on 2020 predictions, I had no idea what was going to happen a few weeks later.

The coronavirus pandemic turned everything on its head, affecting every aspect of everyday life from education and work to family gatherings and vacation plans.

My prediction that it would be a breakout year for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders did come true, but not in the way I anticipated.

Yes, we had an upsurge in political activity led by having the unprecedented three Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders running for the Democratic nomination for President. And then Kamala Harris made more history by being picked as the first AAPI Vice President candidate for a major party,

Yes, the U.S. Census got a host of AAPI agencies involved in trying to get an accurate count of our communities. But it was not an easy count as the Trump administration kept putting up roadblocks to try to undercount communities of color.

Yes, it appears that AAPI were making headway in the entertainment world with the result of perhaps having two films with AAPI directors -- Minari and Nomadland -- being touted as Oscar nominees. A half-dozen other projects in the movies and television gave AAPIs more of a presence in America's cultural scene.

KANLUNGAN

About one-third of the deaths among U.S. healthcare workers were
Filipino Americans.

TOLL OF COVID-19

But all of that occurred in the shadow of the deadly virus that swept across the world and no one could have predicted the way the U.S. -- specifically the Trump administration -- fell flat on its face with the American response with lies, denial and race-baiting that resulted in almost 84 million coronavirus victims worldwide and approaching 2 million deaths due to the disease.

Americans, sadly, can truly say the USA is No. 1 in this deadly statistic: 20 million cases and 344,000 have died from COVID-19. (As of the beginning of the last day of the year.)

If one is looking for the silver lining in the pandemic (if you can call it that) is the credit that was finally given to the huge role Filipino health care professionals are playing in caring for the coronavirus patients. The price they are paying though is that as a group, they have contracted the disease and died from it in far greater numbers than any other ethnic group.

The unsung role of Immigrant doctors from China and South Asia -- especially in underserved urban and rural areas -- was finally acknowledged too. Without them, many small towns and hospitals serving the poor would not have the health care they need.

RISE IN ANTI-ASIAN RACISM

The coronavirus also exposed the racist xenophobia against anybody who looked Asian. The FBI said last winter that we should expect more attacks and hate acts throughout the year.  Reports by community groups confirmed the unleashed racism harbored by Americans egged on by the White House by calling the pandemic the Wuhan Virus, Kung Flu or the China Virus. 

Businesses in the nation's Chinatowns, J-towns, Little Saigons, Filipinotowns and K-towns plummeted putting the future of these ethnic enclaves -- already feeling the pressures of rising rents due to gentrification -- in further jeopardy. Many mom-and-pop entrepreneurs continue to suffer and have had to lay off workers or shut down -- some may never reopen.

Despite the dampening effects of the coronavirus, AAPI's persisted and having felt the impact of their collective power, may never be satisfied with playing second-fiddle again.

POLITICAL GROWTH

Most symbolic of the renewed activism and progress by AAPIs is having Kamala Harris named as Joe Biden's running mate. The California Senator along with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and entrepreneur Andrew Yang gave AAPIs an unprecented presences in the national political scene. 

For many Americans who couldn't find American Samoa or Hawaii on the map, Gabbard may have been the first Samoan-Hawaiian-Hindu they've ever seen and to their astonishment, she spoke English. For many, what she said on international relations made sense and she went toe-to-toe against better known rivals during the Democrats' Primary drive.

Andrew Yang, a nonprofit entrepreneur, came out of nowhere to run in the Primary and outlasted better established politicians energizing young people and his talk about the fourth industrial revolution and his trademark vow of giving  every adult American $1000 a month. What may have sounded like pie-in-the-sky promises during the Primary, now appear feasible with Congress' penchant for trillion-dollar gifts and tax breaks to large corporations and 1-percenters.

Yang, who never ran for public office before 2019, is now a national figure recognized by pundits and political entities. He is a voice that will not disappear soon. If he doesn't get a position in the Biden administration, he is mulling over a run for Mayor of New York City.

THE KAMALA EFFECT

The Oakland-born Harris, the daughter of a South Asian mother and Jamaican father, and her rise from a little-known first-term senator to the Vice Presidency is the stuff of   storybooks. A tough-minded veteran of Northern California's political skirmishes, she knew when to soften her image with families and speak-one-on-one with little boys and girls. Her experience as San Francisco's District Attorney and her attempts to reform California's Attorney General's Office gave her a foundation that served her well on Capitol Hill.

She gained national attention with her proscutorial skill against Trump's nominees for the Supreme Court and Attorney General reducing well-versed nominees to stuttering and long pauses of silence. Would-be Attorney General Jeff Sessions, response to her questioning put her on the map. "I am not able to be rushed this fast, it makes me nervous." 

But it was her early withdrawal from the Primary that surprised experts may have been her best move. By announcing her departure from the hot contest in December of 2019, she avoided the negative image of "losing," before the nation's first vote in Iowa, where polls showed her not finishing in the top three despite putting all her resources into the state.

She was able to also begin her charm offensive by healing the rifts between her and the Democratic Party and the other candidates running for President, especially with Biden's campaign. Her if-you-can't-beat-them, join-them strategy was no guarantee but with her primary goal of seeing Trump removed from the White House worked and impressed Joe Biden.

The results speak for themselves. By accepting the role of Vice President, Harris not only made history as the first AAPI in such a high-profile role in the incoming administration, she put herself in a strong position for a run for the top job in 2024 or 2028, whenever the 78-year old Biden decides to leave public life.

Paralleling the candidacies of Harris, Yang and Gabbard, or perhaps inspired by their campaigns for the highest office in the land, AAPI voters went to the polls in unprecedented numbers, spurred by registration drives and get-out-the-vote campaigns waged by community agencies. The AAPI vote proved crucial in swing states red states to blue benefitting Biden and Harris.

AAPI voted heavily for the Democrats not only because Harris was on the ticket, but because of Trump's anti-immigrant positions that threatens family reunification, educational aspirations and the dreams of becoming U.S. citizens.

The AAPI political excitement and energy generated by 2020 bodes well for the future as both and Democratic and Republicans are beginning to notice the AAPI vote in their outreach campaigns and the danger of ignoring this small but potent electorate.

An unfortunate byproduct of the coronavirus pandemic is the rise in anti-Asian acts, harassment and physical attacks. AAPI -- the majority of whom are first-generation immigrants -- finally get a tiny hint of what it means to be an African American, who must face racial bias baked into institutions as well as individual acts of hate.

ANTI-ASIAN ATTACKS RISE

Because of the origin of the virus and the insistence of Donald Trump and his top advisors to call the pandemic the China Virus, Wuhan Virus or the Kung Flu, coupled with attacks against China for its trade policies and targetting Chinese-born students and researchers allegedly stealing or buying U.S. manufacturing secrets and research, Trump's followers used that as permission to attack Chinese Americans and since they are unable to distinguish the differences between other Asian Americans, that included all AAPIs.

Racists shouted at AAPI, telling them to go back to their country when that country is the USA, pushed and punched them on subways, burned their houses of worship, slashed at them in stores and streets, one woman had her clothes set on fire in New York and generally made everyday experiences like going to the grocery or grabbing a cup of coffee an uncomfortable experience for Asian Americans.

Realizing that they shared the common enemy of racism and the emboldenment of white supremacists, most Asian Americans aligned themselves to the Black Lives Matter movement and were outspoken in their support for police reform, joining the demonstrations and marches protesting police violence.

NEVER HAVE I EVER

POP GOES THE CULTURE

The success of Crazy Rich Asians in 2018 continues to ripple through the entertainment world.

While the edgy ruminations of Hassan Minhaj on his Patriot Act and the subtler but nonthreatening digs against racism in Fresh Off the Boat ended in 2020, new fare with AAPI stars and themes came in to take their places.

Awkwafina is Nora From Queens and Never Have I Ever are more outspoken about being Asian American than FOtB and unafraid to point out the differences that set Asians apart from other ethnicities and at the same time, in an understated way, show the similarities of human beings despite the color of their skin.

FOtB's six seasons may have opened the door for the new sitcoms, but Awkwafina and Mindy Kaling, the latter who wrote and produced Never Have I Ever, are not afraid to have their heroines break stereotypes. They are not the shy, retiring type but -- thank goodness -- resemble their creators' way of handling the slights of racism.

The same goes for Warrior, which took the action mantle from Into the Badlands. While Badlands existed in a dystopian, fictional world, Warrior takes place in the American West, circa late 1800s. Like the second-generation sitcoms, Warrior takes on racism head-on -- or should I say, with a quick fist and good roundhouse kick. 

Wu Assassins, another 2020 entry on Netflix, is a martial arts series that takes place in the present day. Like Warrior and because it is more contemporary, the series confronts the slings and arrows of racism and makes sure the audience understands the evil nature of racial bias. Hopefully, Netflix grants it a second season.

On the nonfictional side, the 5-part series Asian Americans by PBS told the history of Asian Americans with never-before seen footage and subjects. It may not be compete enough for everybody, but it was the best attempt so far to show how Asian American history should be part of any story about America's growth.

TIGERTAIL

Movies featuring AAPI actors and themes proved their crossover appeal and demonstrates the wealth of above-the-line and below-the-line talent that is just beginning to be noticed by studio heads.

To varying degrees of artistic and box office success, the following films released in 2020 opened the minds of Hollywood decision makers looking for new storylines and talent.

Tigertail, written and directed by Alan Yang (Master of None);

Yellow Rose, written and directed by Filipino American Diane Paragas;

The Half of It, written and directed by Alice Wu;

Mulan, Disney's live-action version of China's legendary woman warrior featured an all-Asian and Asian American cast;

To All the Boys I Ever Loved 2, based on the novels by Jenny Han and starring Lana Condor in the lead role may lead to a third film;

Hollywood featured Darren Criss portraying a Filipino American director introduced the legendary actress, Anna May Wong, played by Michelle Krusiec;

Over the Moon, Netflix's animated feature used an all-Asian all-star voice cast;

Minari, an Asian American film was written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, may be up for some industry awards;

Additionally, Nomadland, directed by Chloe Zhao, may reap some Oscar nominations.

2020 sets up 2021 to be another year in which Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will make their mark in the United States. With the turning of the New Year, the pandemic is still with us and it will take most of next year to get it under control.

Although Biden and Harris will be installed, they will be spending most of their efforts in undoing what Trump had wrought including getting the coronavirus vaccines to the most people quickly as possible, tamping down the rise of white supremacists, immigration reform, reform in the justice system and getting the economy up and running again.

Last year at this time, I said 2020 would be a momentous year for AAPI peoples. Although I couldn't foresee the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing bumbling response by the Trump administration and the anti-Asian attacks, I wasn't wrong; It was one helluva year.

EDITOR'S NOTE; A word of caution. This is an opinion piece. Readers should consult several sources of news to form their own opinion.

Democrats air ads directed at AAPI voters.

SCREEN CAPTURE / BIDEN CAMPAIGN

Filipino WWII veterans appear in the new video aimed at AAPI communities.

The Democratic Party's first 60-second ad directed at Asian American and Pacific Islander communities was released Wednesday (Oct. 21) titled "Standing Together."

The aggressive outreach effort comes after some Biden supporters raised concerns over the summer about the lack of outreach to the AAPI electorate.

The 2020 Asian American Voter Survey by APIA Data and AAPI Vote showed that a majority of Asian Americans (54%) surveyed planned to vote for Joe Biden compared to just 30% who planned to support Republican incumbent Donald Trump. 

The poll also shows that about half of all respondents were not contacted by either major party. With a higher than average response of voters who register themselves as independent, the Democratics outreach will be critical to cement votes from Asian American voters.

This Biden-Harris campaign ad targets the AAPI electorate.

Biden was strongly favored among all national origin groups surveyed, except Vietnamese Americans. Among Vietnamese registered voters, support is higher for Trump (48%) than Biden (36%). Indian Americans are the most inclined to vote for Biden among all Asian American groups (66%). At the same time, 14% of Asian American registered voters remained undecided about their presidential vote choice, with Chinese Americans (22%) exhibiting the highest proportion of voters who said they were “undecided.”

Political parties have yet to harness the power of the Asian American vote despite the fact that many remain persuadable. The 2020 Asian American Voter Survey shows that about half of all respondents were not contacted by either major party. With a higher than average response of voters who do not subscribe with either party, party outreach will be critical for Asian American voters.

The centerpiece of the program is a television commercial titled “Stand Together.” The ad features a narrator framing Biden’s Democratic ticket as a return to American values alongside photos of families, workers and veterans from different Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities. Biden’s running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, who is the first Indian-American vice presidential candidate, is featured prominently in the 60-second clip.

“It’s time to go home to a place we once knew, a country of kindness and compassion, empathy and community, tolerance and generosity, integrity and hope,” the narrator says in the ad. “It’s time to stand together in a place called America, the place we all call home. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris know the way.”

The survey, which was released last month, showed Biden beating Trump in multiple segments of the community, except among Vietnamese-Americans. The survey also indicated the Indian-American and East Asian American communities where Biden has an advantage still have undecided voters, which makes the space a clear growth opportunity for the Democratic ticket. 

The campaign declined to say exactly how much is being spent on the advertising push. However, in August, Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon released a memo saying Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders would be among the “key constituencies” targeted through a massive $280 million advertising spend. In that memo, O’Malley Dillon cited the Democratic advantage with these communities and noted that targeting them “could increase the party’s margin of victory in closely contested battleground states.”

Harris also touted the Biden campaign’s effort to reach a diverse selection of voters during the vice presidential debate on Wednesday.

“Joe and I are particularly proud of the coalition we’ve built around our campaign,” she said. “We probably have one of the broadest coalitions of folks that you’ve ever seen in a presidential race.”

U.S.-India relations is the focus of this ad.

A second ad was released this week targeting Indian American voters who like other AAPI groups, with the exception of Vietnamese Americans, strongly favor the Democratic ticket. 

Not surprisingly, one of the key reasons South Asians have flocked to the Democratics is Biden's running mate -- Indian American Kamala Harris.

In earlier surveys of the largely immigrant community, the Democrats' selection of Harris  health care, affordable health care, immigration, economic opportunities and education have overridden concerns about India-U.S. foreign policies and trade, which the Republicans have emphasized in Trump's palling around with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With a new ad targeting the Indian American community, the Biden campaign wants to respond to those Indian Americans who still have strong ties with their country of origin by showing that India and its economic and security concerns will not be overlooked by a Democratic administration.

The one AAPI ethnic group that was leaning towards Trump, according to the survey, was the Vietnamese community.

Earlier this year, Democrats scored a historical first by airing a spot in Vietnamese attacking Michelle Steel, GOP candidate for the 45th Congressional District in Southern California.

Biden also wrote an oped for a Nevada ethnic newspaper that was translated and published in Vietnamese.

Other video English-speaking ads appearing in social media has Mandarin or Cantonese subtitles.

In Texas with its large South Asian American communityi, the Biden campaign has been airing radio commercials, conducting phone banks and Zoom meetups in various Indian languages. AAPIs for Biden coalition work with affinity groups like South Asians for Biden and their ethnic national councils, including Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans.

“AAPI voters are the fastest-growing bloc in the electorate but very few efforts were made to reach them in previous elections. There is more uptick in terms of outreach to subgroups this time,” Harini Krishnan, California co-state director for South Asians for Biden, said to NBC.

“The understanding of the lack of outreach in 2016 really helped us in this election cycle to ensure we work to increase desi voter turnout.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: Updated Oct. 23, 10:30 a.m. to include new material and for clarification.

The Biden-Harris campaign targets ad campaign at AAPI voters

SCREEN CAPTURE / BIDEN CAMPAIGN

Democrats launch a major advertising campaign targeting AAPI voters. 

Joe Biden's and Kamala Harris' political campaign is not taking the Asian American and Pacific Islander community for granted despite recent polls that show AAPI voters strongly support the Democratic ticket.

Biden’s presidential campaign announced on Friday (Oct. 9) a historic media campaign targeting AAPI communities that will include ads airing nationally and in 16 key states. 

The paid media campaign will kick off with a 0:60 television ad titled “Stand Together,” featuring an AAPI narrator underscoring the importance of returning to American values of kindness, compassion, empathy, community, tolerance, generosity, integrity and hope. The ad focuses on how Joe Biden and Kamala Harris can lead the country back to these values and build back better for the AAPI community. 

Not surprisingly, Sen. Kamala Harris, the first Indian American and Asian American on a national ticket, is featured prominently. The paid campaign follows the historic Vice Presidential Debate, where Harris, daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, became the first Asian American to compete on a general election debate stage.

The television spot will be followed by digital, radio and print ads targeting specific AAPI constituencies in-language in key battleground states. These targeted ads will highlight issues of importance to AAPI communities and describe Joe Biden’s commitment to ensure that every member of the AAPI community is treated with dignity—no matter their race or ethnicity—and has a fair shot at the American Dream.

The ads are produced by Potomac Waves Media, a women and minority-owned full service media production firm that focuses on reaching communities of color, according to a press release from the AAPI for Biden committee.

Courtni Pugh, Potomac Waves Media partner and Biden for President Senior Advisor for Paid Media said: “As an Asian American woman, I’m proud that the Biden-Harris campaign is making an historic outreach effort in the AAPI community and that the campaign chose Potomac Waves Media, a women and minority-owned specialty media firm.”

The ads will air nationally on radio, digital and print platforms, as well as platforms in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The campaign’s paid media program is active in a total of 16 states — including the above states in addition to Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Ohio.

In August, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made a $45,000 ad buy on a local Vietnamese-language cable television station in California, but the Biden campaign’s ad blitz is bigger and much more ambitious. Along with the television spot, the push will have digital, radio and print ads that the campaign says will be aimed at Asian-American and Pacific Islander constituencies “in key battleground states.”

Besides the ad campaign, Biden has developed an agenda specifically for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that includes his plans for immigration, entrepreneurship, education, affordable health plan and handling of the coronavirus.

Biden for President is building a broad coalition that is diverse and inclusive. The AAPI Coalition is made up of more than 16 affinity groups, including AAPI Staffers for Biden, AAPI Veterans and Military Families for Biden, Chinese Americans for Biden, Filipino Americans for Biden, Hmong Americans for Biden, Japanese Americans for Biden, Korean Americans for Biden, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders for Biden, Queer AAPIs for Biden, South Asians for Biden, Taiwanese Americans for Biden, Thai Americans for Biden, Vietnamese Americans for Biden, Japanese Americans for Biden, AAPI Millennials for Biden and Young AAPIs for Biden.

Virtual music festival. to promote get-out-the-vote effort for AAPIs

Alvin Lee, more known to the public as ALVYN, will be among the featured performers at Fresh Off the Vote

ASAM NEWS

In commemoration of Asian Pacific American Heritage month, talented Asian American artists across the country are joining hands for a 2-day virtual music festival called "Fresh off the Vote," this Wednesday and Thursday. (May 27 & 28). 

Artists ranging from musician AJ Rafael, ALVYN and DJ Ramen will perform online over two day to blast out the importance of voting in an age of increased anti-Asian hate.

Fresh off the Vote is a livestream event which BTO Collective Twitter dubbed “more than just a festival”. Launched by the 2020 Project and Better Than One (BTO) Collective, the virtual music festival encourages Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth in the community to “pursue and engage in their passions.”

Andy Au Bui, performing under the artist name SATORI admits he was initially hesitant to participate because he was preoccupied with other work. Yet he understood that he “couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be a part of a cultural event to celebrate AAPI inclusion and empowerment.”

“In our current COVID-era, we [AAPI] all understand now more than ever that public policies matter, and policies in themselves have consequences,” he said. “The best way to increase our voice and influence in the political process is the vote. It’s not the end-all, but it’s a good first step!”

AsAmNews has been enlisted by the 2020 Project and the BTO Collective as a supporting organization for the festival.

The 2020 Project was created in 2016 by Jenni Huynh, who was External Vice President of Union of North American Vietnamese Students Association at the time, and Phil Chung, the Creative Director at You Offend Me You Offend My Family Network. The project aimed to register 100,000 AAPI to vote for the 2020 Presidential Elections through active voter education, collaborations with AAPI influencers, and engaging events like Fresh off the Vote.

Huynh found promoting voter registration among AAPI youth to be important because “they [AAPI] are the fastest growing minority population in the United States, yet we [AAPI] are the least represented at the polls. Whether AAPIs are apathetic towards voting, feel their voice does not matter, or feel unprepared to cast their ballot, the 2020 Project team is working to break down barriers and show how voting does make a difference for our community.”

Huynh determined the best way to do so was by engaging AAPI youth to the music world, filled with talented AAPI artists performing acoustic to electronic dance music sets.

That is why she got together with BTO Collective, a music organization comprising talented producers and DJs.

Chad Dominic Sahilan, a member and Public Relations Manager of BTO Collective, explained to AsAmNews how he actively recruited AAPI artists to participate in this event.

Sahilan said that he was more than happy to be part of an event that “advocates for and empowers our community’s voices because it is nothing short of humbling.” He emphasized how excited he was to be able to present and participate in a lineup full of Asian American talent as he “wanted to help represent a community whose voices throughout the current media and political landscape are often overshadowed and underrepresented.”

As Fresh Off the Vote is on the same month as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the Asian American performers also shared their words of encouragement to AAPI youth.

Chad Dominic Sahilan, who will be performing in a 30 minute DJ set with some of his favorite EDM genres said, “Don’t just follow your dreams — chase them down. Don’t let Asian American career stereotypes hinder you from chasing your dreams either. Work hard, play hard. ”

Alvin Lee, more known to the public as ALVYN said, “Pursue your passion. I’ve had so many people tell me how much they regret not pursuing their passion, but seeing me and all of my other friends in BTO Collective really inspires them, so I urge you to not be afraid, because you will clear up your doubts and find happiness in the journey!”

“Learn the history of Asian Americans, our struggles, and how we got to where are today. Go out and vote, and encourage others to do the same,” shared Satori.

Fresh Off the Vote will take place on twitch.com/btocollective on May 27-28th (Wednesday & Thursday). To view on Twitch, click here.

You can register or pledge to vote here.