2009 Success Stories in Immigrant Integrated Voter Engagement in San Diego, Riverside, Union City and San Francisco
From Mobilize the Immigrant Vote!
In 2008, the country witnessed unprecedented voter turnout in communities across the country. The Latino and immigrant vote got on the map in new and innovative ways. Ninety-two percent of registered Latinos – almost half of whom were immigrants – reported casting a ballot. One in every six Latino voters in 2008 cast a ballot for the first time in that year’s elections. Naturalization rates in Asian communities skyrocketed, including naturalization among some of the largest Asian Pacific Islander legal permanent resident populations from the Philippines, India, and the People’s Republic of China.
Most civic leaders and organizations agreed that the imperative coming out of the 2008 Presidential elections was to keep those activated citizens and grassroots leaders, both immigrant and U.S.-born, involved – to join grassroots organizations, to advocate for public policy change, and to maintain the victories of 2008. The following four case studies show how four Mobilize the Immigrant Vote partner organizations in California built on their 2008 electoral organizing achievements. The purpose of the studies is to share examples of what thousands of other organizations are doing through California and the country.
- Effective Defense of Ballot Victories : Filipino Youth and Voter Leadership in Oakland and Union City
- Lifting Up the Issue of Immigrant Rights in Anti-immigrant Communities : Voter Engagement in San Diego
- Victory over Proposed Budget Cuts : Engaging Chinese American Voters and Grassroots Leaders in San Francisco
- Winning Institutional Support for Immigration Reform : Youth and Voter Engagement in Riverside
Conclusion
The Riverside Latino Voter Project, Chinese Progressive Association, San Diego Keeping Families Together Coalition, and Filipino Advocates for Justice are just four examples of hundreds, if not thousands, of other grassroots organizations across California and the country leading effective integrated voter engagement projects. Their stories show the value of investing in year-round, multi-year civic engagement strategies rooted in community-based organizations, a vision for which the Mobilize the Immigrant Vote (MIV) California Collaborative continues to advocate.
February 10th, 2010 at 11:40 am
[...] 2009 Case Studies on Integrated Voter Engagement: read about how four MIV partner organizations across California successfully linked their public policy campaigns with their year-round voter engagement last year. [...]
February 10th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
[...] 2009 Case Studies on Integrated Voter Engagement: read about how four MIV partner organizations across California successfully linked their public policy campaigns with their year-round voter engagement last year. [...]