Asians, Pacific Islanders Absent from Voting Booths
Monday, August 23, 2004 at 03:04PM
TheSpook
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Our lives begin to
end the day we become silent about things that matter." Although recent
studies have shown that Asian and Pacific Islander Americans are among
one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, the APIA
voice is only growing more and more silent. According to a study
conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the University of California,
only 11 percent of all Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in
California participate in the general elections. In California, the
Asian and Pacific Islander American community makes up almost 13
percent of the state's total population, and yet only a small
percentage of the eligible Asian and Pacific Islander (APIA) voters
show up at the voting booth each year. According to APIAVote.Org, a
non-profit organization dedicated to increasing APIA voter
participation, 67 percent of all Asian and Pacific Islander Americans
in California was eligible to vote in 2000. But only a small percentage
of them actually showed up last year, leaving the APIA voice completely
unheard. [
more 
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- Of 32 million voting-age Latinos, only 8 million voted in the 2000 election. [more
]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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