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This NY Times piece + other analyses are justifiably raising lots of discussions about the right-ward shift of immigrant communities' voting patterns in 2020 and what progressive groups must do to stave it off in the future.
A couple ideas below
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/20/us/politics/election-hispanics-asians-voting.html
A couple ideas below
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/20/us/politics/election-hispanics-asians-voting.html
Outreach to communities of color can't just happen for a couple months every election year.
Dems/progressive groups must invest in year-around organizing — and organizing where the community is: i.e. tabling outside of ethnic grocery stores, community centers, boba shops, etc.
Dems/progressive groups must invest in year-around organizing — and organizing where the community is: i.e. tabling outside of ethnic grocery stores, community centers, boba shops, etc.
Hire people from the community to do this work.
I'm not saying this knowledge can't be learned by outsiders (I'm guilty of this), but organizers who know the community, the language and have deep cultural competence will be the most effective voices for our causes.
I'm not saying this knowledge can't be learned by outsiders (I'm guilty of this), but organizers who know the community, the language and have deep cultural competence will be the most effective voices for our causes.
The message matters, too. Don't just talk about national issues — tie in important local initiatives.
Show that Democrats in DC are fighting for better health care while Democrats on the city council are working to keep the local health clinic open. These go hand in hand.
Show that Democrats in DC are fighting for better health care while Democrats on the city council are working to keep the local health clinic open. These go hand in hand.
Online disinformation was a big factor in why we saw large numbers of immigrant voters shift toward Republicans. We must address this.
@terrygtnguyen of Vox wrote a great story about this in the Asian American community: https://www.vox.com/identities/21579752/asian-american-misinformation-after-2020
@terrygtnguyen of Vox wrote a great story about this in the Asian American community: https://www.vox.com/identities/21579752/asian-american-misinformation-after-2020
Fighting online disinformation has to be a priority for Democrats and progressive groups — and devoting manpower to it needs to be a part of any political organization's game plan.
You can't just rely on volunteers — there has to be money and staff put toward this work.
You can't just rely on volunteers — there has to be money and staff put toward this work.
And, digital organizing needs to be about engaging in the online spaces that people already occupy, whether it's FB, WeChat, etc.
Just like you don't table in an empty shopping mall, you shouldn't create new social media pages for a four month political campaign.
Just like you don't table in an empty shopping mall, you shouldn't create new social media pages for a four month political campaign.
Conclusion: I'm a comms guy who knows very little about organizing. I haven't written a book, nor do I profess to be an expert on voting behavior. But these are some ideas based on things I've seen that work.
For folks who have done this work, please reply with feedback/ideas!
For folks who have done this work, please reply with feedback/ideas!
I hope the Democratic Party/progressive organizations take a serious look at how we reach immigrants and communities of color.
This is a solvable problem, but it'll take intentional efforts by those in power to actually put resources (aka $$$) behind some of these solutions.
This is a solvable problem, but it'll take intentional efforts by those in power to actually put resources (aka $$$) behind some of these solutions.
Last thing: Go support your locally owned Chinese restaurant tomorrow!!
