nwasianweekly.com
Feb. 9, 2008

Happy Lunar New Year

2008 is proving to be an exciting year. The Year of the Rat is also a presidential election year and an Olympic Games year.
On Feb. 7, Lunar New Year, many Asian Americans celebrated their culture and feasted on traditional dishes with family and friends. We hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing time. And then, we hope everyone will go and participate at the caucus Saturday, Jan. 9.

Equally important as celebrating a cultural background is participating in a political future. Asian Americans can and will influence this election, whether through participation or the lack of it.

The organization Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote reports that nationwide, approximately 7 million Asian American Pacific Islanders are eligible to vote, and close to 3.5 million have registered to vote. Nearly 3 million Asian American and Pacific Islander voters cast ballots in the last presidential election.

According to Vida Benavides, chair of APIA Vote, “Asian Americans and Pacific Islander voters will play a key role on Super Tuesday,” as several of the states that held their caucuses and primaries on Tuesday have significant Asian American populations, such as California and New Jersey.

We in Washington state are not a part of Super Tuesday, but nonetheless, our turnout should be just as strong. It’s not up to other states to decide our delegates for us.

This editorial space has encouraged political participation and voter turnout countless times. It’s a favorite and, perhaps some would say, well-worn topic.

But we offer you yet one other reason to cherish your right to vote.

The Seattle Times reported on Feb. 4 that more than 1 million immigrants’ applications for U.S. citizenship are caught up in a massive government backlog. They will most likely not become citizens in time to vote in the presidential race in November.

Imagine the difference a million votes could potentially make in a tight race. As a comparison, only a half-million popular votes separated Al Gore from President Bush in 2000.

The Times quoted Daniel Tichenor, a research professor and immigration expert at Rutgers University, who said, “The right to vote is one of the fundamental ways newcomers can feel they have been fully incorporated into a new society. … Denial of that access ... can have a chilling effect, particularly in an election that is likely to motivate a record number of voters.”

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