New York Volunteers Needed to Defend Asian American Voting Rights
Seema Agnani
Chhaya CDC is working with AALDEF on Poll Monitoring for this election in District 25 – including Jackson Heights. We need volunteers to help!~ particularly Urdu and Bangla speakers. Please join us by signing up at AALDEF’s site – and select Chhaya CDC as the local co-sponsor when you sign up.
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
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Asian American Election Protection and Poll Monitoring
Defending Asian American Voting Rights in New York
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Primary Elections -- Tuesday, September 15, 2009
General Elections -- Tuesday, November 3, 2009
In past elections, Asian Americans have faced a series of barriers in exercising their right to vote. For example, poll workers were hostile and made racist remarks, poll sites had too few interpreters to assist Asian American voters, and translated voting materials were missing. When the news media reports on election returns and the vote by specific groups, Asian Americans were often overlooked.
In response, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund has conducted a non-partisan survey of Asian American voters to document Asian American voting patterns. AALDEF has also monitored the elections for compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act, which mandates bilingual ballots and forbids anti-Asian voter discrimination.
On September 15, 2009 and November 3, 2009, AALDEF along with several other Asian American groups will be monitoring the elections and conducting non-partisan voter surveys at polling sites in Asian American neighborhoods across New York City. We need your help.
Volunteers are needed to administer a multilingual voter survey in 3-hour shifts and document voting problems on Election Day. Polls are generally open from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM. There will be a one-hour training session for all volunteers (90-minutes for trainings taking place at law firms). All volunteers must be non-partisan during the time they help.
To sign up and for a training schedule, go to www.aaldef.net or complete the registration form pasted below. Thank you!
VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP FORM
NAME: _____________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS: _____________________________________________________________________________
city_________________________________ state_____________ zip___________________
EMAIL: _____________________________________________________________________________
PHONE: daytime _____________________________ evening __________________________________
ORG./CO./SCHL./ASS’N: ______________________________________________________________
ARE YOU? ___ Undergraduate student ___ Graduate student ___ Law student
___ Attorney ___ High school student ___ Community volunteer
WHERE DO YOU PREFER TO BE STATIONED? (please rank 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices):
Assignments may be changed according to language ability and/or time availability.
___ Chinatown, Manhattan ___ Flushing, Queens ___ Bayside, Queens
___ Elmhurst, Queens ___ Jackson Heights, Queens
___ Jamaica, Queens ___ Richmond Hill, Queens ___ Sunset Park, Brooklyn
___ No preference/Wherever most needed
DO YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A CAR TO DRIVE TO YOUR SITE? []Yes []No
--PRIMARY ELECTION--
ON TUESDAY, 9/15/09, WHEN ARE YOU AVAILABLE TO VOLUNTEER? (rank 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
___6:00 - 9:00 am ___9:00 am - 12 N ___12 N - 3:00 pm
___3:00 - 6:00 pm ___6:00 - 9:00 pm ___Willing to do multiple shifts
--GENERAL ELECTION--
ON TUESDAY, 11/3/09, WHEN ARE YOU AVAILABLE TO VOLUNTEER? (rank 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
___6:00 - 9:00 am ___9:00 am - 12 N ___12 N - 3:00 pm
___3:00 - 6:00 pm ___6:00 - 9:00 pm ___Willing to do multiple shifts
ARE YOU BILINGUAL IN ANY ASIAN LANGUAGE/DIALECT? (Check all that apply)
Language ability is not required to volunteer in this effort, but is helpful in determining location/activity.
___ Cantonese ___ Mandarin ___Korean ___Tagalog ___Japanese
___ Hindi ___ Gujarati ___Punjabi ___Bengali ___Urdu
___ Vietnamese ___ Khmer ___Malayalam ___None ___Other_________
ARE YOU? ___ Past Volunteer: Year_____________
___ Partnering with another volunteer: Name _____________________ (times must match).
You will be notified of trainings and other logistics upon receipt of this form.
RETURN THIS FORM TO:
AALDEF Election Protection Project
99 Hudson Street, 12th Floor; New York, NY 10013
FAX 212.966.4303; EMAIL voting...@aaldef.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Glenn D. Magpantay, Bryan Lee, or Julia Yang
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
99 Hudson Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10013
CO-SPONSORS:
Asian American Bar Association of New York
Chhaya CDC – NY
Korean American League for Civic Action – NY
Muslim American Bar Association of New York
South Asian Bar Association of New York
South Asian Youth Action! – NY
The Sikh Coalition – NY
YKASEC: Empowering Korean American Community – NY
List as of August 26, 2009
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ASIAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND
99 Hudson Street, 12/F New York, NY 10013-2815
Defending the civil rights of Asian Americans since 1974
t: 212.966.5932 f: 212.966.4303 website: www.aaldef.org
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