New In-Person Voting Options Added in Chinatown and Koreatown for the 2022 Primary
CAUSE, KAC, AAPI Equity Alliance, and AAAJ-LA Successfully Advocate for Vote Centers in Chinatown and Koreatown after Discovering None Planned
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Farrah Su
Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: (213) 269-5716
Email: farrah@causeusa.org
Los Angeles, CA - May 23, 2022 - Chinatown and Koreatown voters will now have several in-person voting options in their neighborhoods for the June 7, 2022 Statewide Direct Primary Election, thanks to the efforts of the Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment (CAUSE), Korean American Coalition (KAC), AAPI Equity Alliance, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles (AAAJ-LA).
After discovering there would not be any Vote Centers in either Chinatown or Koreatown through a thread on Twitter, the coalition of Los Angeles Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) advocacy organizations quickly mobilized to contact the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) to identify immediate solutions for this primary election. In previous election years, there were locations throughout Koreatown and Chinatown. These sites were overwhelmingly popular and experienced long wait times; both diverse neighborhoods are densely populated with voters needing language assistance and seniors with mobility challenges.
In less than a week, the coalition was able to identify potential sites and worked with RR/CC to secure in-person voting options in Chinatown and Koreatown that were not previously available:
CHINATOWN
New 4-Day Vote Center:
Castelar Elementary School
840 Yale St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Hours:
June 4 - June 6 from 10 AM - 7 PM
Election Day, June 7 from 7 AM - 8 PM
NEW FLEX CENTER
Chinese American Citizens Association
415 Bamboo Ln., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Hours:
May 29 - May 30 from 8 AM - 5 PM
(Subject to Change)
KOREATOWN
New 4-Day Vote Centers:
Anderson Munger Family YMCA
4301 W 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90020
Hours:
June 4 - June 6 from 10 AM - 7 PM
Election Day, June 7 from 7 AM - 8 PM
Berendo Middle School
1157 S Berendo St., Los Angeles, CA 90006
Hours:
June 4 - June 6 from 10 AM - 7 PM
Election Day, June 7 from 7 AM - 8 PM
To locate other Vote Center locations, visit https://locator.lavote.gov/locations/vc?id=4269
Since these in-person voting locations were added after voting materials were mailed out, an intensive communication campaign is now taking place to inform Chinatown and Koreatown voters. RR/CC will mail multilingual direct mailers to voters in Chinatown and Koreatown to highlight the new voting options as well as the surrounding Vote Center locations. RR/CC will promote the new Vote Centers in its social media posts and ethnic and local media outlets will also be engaged to spread the word.
The coalition will augment RR/CC’s efforts through its extensive networks and deep ties to the communities and thanks the attentive social media users for bringing attention to this issue. Over Memorial Day weekend, the coalition will engage in neighborhood canvassing to remind voters that Election Day is coming up, notify them of their voting options, and answer questions related to voting. To sign up for canvassing, please visit https://bit.ly/lacanvas2022.
Moving forward, the coalition will work with RR/CC to secure Vote Centers in locations convenient for the AAPI community in the 2022 General Election and also identify where county policies and practices are leading to inequitable access to voting for Los Angeles’ diverse communities.
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