Los Angeles, CA –On Tuesday February 11, 2020, CAUSE hosted the “Make Us Count” Press Conference featuring California Secretary of State Alex Padilla at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo.
The “Make Us Count” Press Conference focused on the new voting model, emphasize the importance of voting in the upcoming elections, and discuss the availability of in-language ballots to encourage voter participation in the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. The “Make Us Count” Press Conference provided an invaluable opportunity for community leaders to engage with the Secretary of State, opening dialogue for ways to improve voter participation in the APA community, along with how the public and non-profit sectors can work together to increase voter turnout.
Read more about this year’s VOTE Initiatives programs here.
Tami Bui, Associate VP of Government & Community Relations at California State University, Fullerton and CAUSE Board Member, started off the press conference by introducing CAUSE and its past efforts to increase voter engagement in the APA community through VOTE Initiatives. She concluded, “CAUSE plans to continue efforts into 2020 to mobilize the community by providing knowledge access, and network to inspire APA of all ages to voice their vote.”
Next, Caroline Choi, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Southern California Edison, remarked on behalf of Southern California Edison, “SCE are very proud to be strong core partners with CAUSE and many orgs here today. We’re a part of this community and we’ll continue to stay engaged and we look forward to working together for voter turnout and ensure a fair and accurate count during the Census 2020.”
CAUSE Board Chair and Co-Founder Charlie Woo, emphasized the importance of collaboration between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to ensure that APA’s have the resources and understanding they need to participate in this year’s election and Census efforts.
Emily Wang, Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing and Community Development at East West Bank, continued by stating, “It is a great opportunity for all Asian Americans to be united...Every individual, every business has a role [in] exercising our right and understanding our responsibilities in voter participation.” She showcased the “I Have a Voice” PSA video produced by East West Bank in partnership with CAUSE, which encourages APA’s to utilize their voices and vote.
The California Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, spoked on the importance of ensuring the civic engagement of the APA community, stating, “When it comes to the inclusion in our democracy, we have a lot of work to do.” He explained, “There is tremendous, untapped political power in the Asian American community and across the board that we need to realize and that we need to foster. And we can do that by making it easier for eligible people to register to vote and easier for registered voters to actually cast their ballot.” Secretary Padilla highlighted the growth of APA’s as a part of the eligible voter population, with an increase from 12.5% in 2016 to a projected 14.5% in 2020.
Lastly, attending community-based organization representatives were invited to the podium to provide statements on behalf of their organizations on the importance of increasing voter turnout. CAUSE was proud to have the opportunity to provide a platform for the following organization representatives:
Chinese-American Elected Officials (CEO)
Councilmember Andrew Chou
The Honorable Cindy Wu, Board Member of Mountain View School District
Korean American Federation of Los Angeles (KAFLA)
James An, Board Member
Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON)
Manjusha (Manju) Kulkarni, Executive Director
Thai Community Development Center (Thai CDC)
Gina Charusombat, Policy and Program Coordinator
Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF)
Karen Fan, Marketing Manager
Chun-Yen Chen, Executive Director
Asian Business Association (ABA)
David Canlas, Program and Membership Manager
Kizuna
Stephanie Nitahara, Executive Director
Japanese American National Museum (JANM)
Sandra Chen Lau, Associate Vice President of Development
We’d like to thank all the speakers, community organizations, East West Bank, and the California Secretary of the State’s office for their time and support towards the “Make Us Count” Press Conference!