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Let me give some examples of what we did for AAPI voter outreach, and the criticism we received from white organizers.
White organizers told us (quite plainly, no beating around the bush here) that campaign yard signs did not get voters to the polls. 1/8 https://twitter.com/anjalienjeti/status/1335180319570472961
White organizers told us (quite plainly, no beating around the bush here) that campaign yard signs did not get voters to the polls. 1/8 https://twitter.com/anjalienjeti/status/1335180319570472961
Specifically, they told us we were wasting our time making our own signs and holding our own sign waving rallies in heavily AAPI neighborhoods. They literally said, "signs don't vote people do." (Yes, they were condescending AF.) 2/8
Yard signs *signaling culture* and/or *in language* generated excitement, inspired conversations about the election, & likely got AAPI voters to the polls. Typical Biden-Harris signs *did* *not* do this. Our Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, South Asian, etc. campaign signs *did.* 3/8
White organizers said we didn't need to do our own postcards. But postcards *signaling culture* and/or *in language,* signed by AAPIs voters from the same ethnic group got AAPI voters' attention in ways other handwritten postcards didn't. We know this. They told us. 4/8
Here's what I personally saw when we began using campaign material with cultural signaling or in-language. Many likely Democratic AAPI voters became activists. They started phone banking. They organized their own friends who were not involved before. 5/8
Otherwise unengaged AAPI voters shared voter / candidate / election information in their text groups. They posted on their social media. Seeing vocal & visible AAPI Democrats & receiving cultural-specific material got them engaged in electoral politics, many for the 1st time. 6/8
A phone call, postcard, or yard sign geared toward members of a specific community makes them feel more essential & empowered by the democratic process. That's why culturally-specific messaging & design is so vital. It starts a relationship that goes beyond 1 election cycle. 7/8
This is why we shouldn't dismiss certain types of voter outreach as ineffective. Signs & postcards might not increase *white* voter turnout. Culturally-specific material may turn out other groups. Would love to know if there's info out there to support my anecdotal evidence. 8/8
