The Indiana Court of Appeals voted unanimously on September 17th to overturn a state law requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification at the polling place. In the case League of Women Voters vs. Rokita, the court said the law violated the state constitution and "must be declared void because it regulates voters in a manner that is not uniform and impartial."
APIAVote supports and applauds the ruling. As stated in a previous letter to legislators in Texas and Georgia, APIAVote "believes that voter ID legislation is detrimental to voter participation and ultimately disenfranchises immigrant, minority, low-income, student, women, and elderly voters. We also believe that voter identification requirements are a mismatched and inadequate policy to address largely unfounded allegations of voter fraud. Voter fraud in the form of impersonation at the polls has not even been proven to occur in the organized manner that some proponents of voter identification want the public to believe." 
APIAVote would like to remember and thank Senator Edward Kennedy for his service to this country. Senator Kennedy made many significant contributions to civil rights, the National Voting Rights Act (NVRA) of 1965 (and renewal of it in 2006) being one of them. The NVRA is a significant piece of legislation that guarantees the right to vote to racial, ethnic and language minority citizens. This legislative act prevents states from enforcing discriminatory tactics aimed at preventing minorities fair opportunities to participate in the voting process. Soon after the passage of the NVRA, voter registration and civic participation from all ethnic minorities increased.
 Recent AAPI Appointees:
- A. Marisa Chun - Deputy Associate Attorney General,
U.S. Department of Justice - Arun Majumdar - Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy, Department of Energy
Currently, four Asian Americans have been nominated to the federal bench: Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen (nominated for the Central District of California); law firm partner Dolly M. Gee (nominated for the Central District of California); Magistrate Judge Edward M. Chen (nominated for the Northern District of California, and New York Southern District Court Judge Denny Chin (nominated for United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit).
This is the first time in history that 4 Asian American judicial candidates have been nominated at the same time. Their nominations are particularly significant given the following:
• Of the approximately 875 federal Article III judges, only 8 are Asian Pacific American - that is less than 1 percent.
• Only 4 of the over 70 Article III judges serving in California are Asian Pacific American. If the number of Asian Pacific American Article III judges serving in California reflected California's general population, approximately 10 judges would be Asian Pacific American.
• There have only been 2 Asian Pacific American female Article III judges in the history of the United States, none of whom serve in California.
• There has never been a Vietnamese American to serve as an Article III judge anywhere in the nation-Judge Nguyen would fill that void.
• There has never been a Chinese American female to serve as an Article III judge anywhere in the nation-Ms. Gee would fill that void.
• Although Asian Pacific Americans constitute approximately 35 percent of the population in the San Francisco/Greater Bay Area, there has never been an Asian Pacific American Article III judge in this area-- Judge Chen would fill that void. • Currently, there is not an active Asian Pacific American federal appellate court judge in the United States out of approximately 175 federal appellate court judgeships. There has never been an Asian Pacific American circuit court judge nominated and confirmed outside of the Ninth Circuit nor has there ever been an Asian Pacific American federal appellate court judge ever in the Northeast-- Judge Chin would fill that void.
Thank you, Asian American Justice Center and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Asssociation for contributing this section and continuing to advocate for judicial appointees. Photo courtesy of AAJC & NAPABA
Election News Do you have an AAPI running for office in your area? If you do, we would greatly appreciate receiving articles and information. Please email to info@apiavote.org so we can add candidates and election news to our website.
APIAVote has compiled a list, not comprehensive, of AAPI candidates running in local races: http://www.apiavote.org/aapis-running-office
We will be updating it as we get more information and links.
Former APIAVote Executive Director Vida Benavides Joins Dewey Square Group
Co-founder, former Board Chair and Executive Director, Vida Benavides, recently joined Dewey Square Group (DSG) as a principal in the State/Local and Multicultural Practice.
Founded in 1993, DSG is a strategic marketing and grassroots communications firm. "Through her record at APIAVote, Vida Benavides once again showed us why she is one of the most innovative, creative, and successful political strategists and community activists working today," said DSG Chairman Chuck Campion.
"We thank Vida for her contributions to APIAVote and congratulate her as she steps into and expands the presence of AAPIs in another sector of political engagement," commented, Daphne Kwok, APIAVote Chair.
AALDEF Needs Volunteers for Voter Protection 
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
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New York City Primary Elections -- Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Boston, MA Preliminary Elections - Tuesday September 22, 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 media reports on election results by specific groups, Asian American voters are 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 and 22, 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 and Boston, Massachusetts. 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 open from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM in New York and 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM in Boston. 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 as a volunteer and for a training schedule, go to www.aaldef.net. Thank you!
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
800-966-5946
votingrights@aaldef.org
www.aaldef.org
CO-SPONSORS:
Asian American Bar Association of New York
Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts
Chhaya CDC - NY
Greater Boston Legal Services: Asian Outreach Unit
Hunter College/CUNY, Asian American Studies Program
Korean American Association of Greater New York
Korean American League for Civic Action - NY
Korean American Voters' Council of NY/NJ
Muslim Bar Association of New York
The Sikh Coalition - NY
South Asian Bar Association of New York
South Asian Youth Action! - NY
YKASEC: Empowering Korean American Community - NY
Upcoming Conferences Supported by APIAVote APIAVote is proud to co-sponsor the following conferences, in order to continue important conversations on civic engagement and progressive policy advocacy between election years. We hope you can join us this year at "A Better Deal: Securing Our Economic Future Now" and at "Advancing Justice!"
A Better Deal: Securing Our Economic Future NOW.
 http://www.abetterdealconference.org/
October 15th and 16th, 2009
The Omni Shoreham Hotel
Washington, D.C.
Today's young adults are the first generation in a century who are not likely to be better off than their parents. Compared to previous generations, young people in their 20s and 30s earn less, carry more debt and pay more for everything from health care to housing. The current recession has only exacerbated these conditions, hitting young people of color and those without a college degree the hardest. But the Millennial Generation, a key force in the 2008 elections, is mobilizing to build a new national movement to address today's pocketbook concerns as well as to redress decades of declining economic opportunity and social mobility.
Demos is proud to host the second conference on A Better Deal: Securing Our Economic Future NOW, in partnership with more than a dozen leading national youth organizations and other key voices. Please join hundreds of young activists and leaders to advance a bold policy agenda to create a better deal for this generation and the nation.
The Advancing Justice Conference
 http://advancingjustice.org
October 29-30, 2009
The Center at Cathedral Plaza
555 W. Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
The Advancing Justice Conference is an inaugural national civil rights and social justice conference that aims to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders in one place to address a broad range of issues facing AAPI communities. It serves as a unique forum where researchers, advocates, direct service providers, and other leaders can talk about their common challenges and find ways to collaborate.
The conference will cover a variety of issues: immigration reform and enforcement, immigrant integration, human rights, civil rights and national security, health care, Census 2010, redistricting, low-wage workers, hate crimes, and LGBT rights. Workshops will also cover: presentations on corporate and foundation fundraising, new media, community organizing, board and commission participation, capacity building, and intergroup collaboration.
The Advancing Justice Conference is a joint project by the Asian American Institute (Chicago), Asian American Justice Center (Washington, D.C.), Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco) and Asian Pacific American Legal Center (Los Angeles).
Nitt Chuenprateep
Nitt Chuenprateep is finishing his senior year at Claremont McKenna College in southern California. He will be graduating in May with a degree in Government and Studio Art. He is also currently working as an employee for the Department of Transportation in the Departmental Office of Civil Rights, as a graphic/web designer and policy analyst assistant. "Working with APIAVote really taught me how design and politics go hand-in-hand, and how I can use the skills I possess to help create change. I also learned a lot about the non-profit world and its interactions with the public, especially with regards to the AAPI community," said Nitt of his APIAVote experience.
Derek Mong
Derek has just begun his freshman year at Duke University. He has yet to determine a major, yet is confident that it will revolve around politics and public policy.He was recently selected to serve as the National Civil Rights Taskforce Director for the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ecaasu.org).
"The internship experience allowed me to explore the nuances of AAPI civic engagement by challenging my conventional views on the subject matter; from hands-on work like collaborating fact sheets on voting rights to listening in on teleconferences with renowned experts in the field, the internship allowed me to develop a more profound understanding of the condition of AAPIs in the political arena. Perhaps the most valuable bit of knowledge I took from the experience was the realization that the struggle for civil rights for Asian Americans was exactly that: a struggle. Civic participation for Asian Americans was and remains an uphill climb; I realized that these obstacles can only be surmounted through the work of advocacy groups like APIAVote," said Derek.
Derek will continue to work with APIAVote on the Census 2010 youth campaign that he initially founded during his internship: the Youth Census Advocacy Project. Stay tuned for how to get involved with this exciting endeavor! APIAVote Now Hiring Interns APIAVote is now accepting applications for interns in the Washington, D.C. office. The APIAVote Internship Program strives to encourage and cultivate young AAPI student leaders to explore a career in the public sector or the political arena. This internship program will also provide hands on experience and training on how to organize and implement voter activities to increase the participation of AAPIs in the electoral process. Application and details can be found here: www.apiavote.org/internships.
For all the latest APIAVote news and media:
APIAVote has entered America's Giving Challenge, a fundraising competition for nonprofits. Between now and November 7th, every donation (no matter the amount) will count towards the daily and monthly prizes. Not only will you be making a tax-deductible contribution to APIAVote, you will also be helping us to multiple your donation if we win. Sign onto Causes (an application on Facebook/Myspace) today to participate. http://tinyurl.com/APIAVoteCauses Not on Facebook or Myspace? Donations can also be made here. By making a contribution to APIAVote today, you can help us: - Field: Build up national and local AAPI capacity by providing training and technical assistance to increase the level of civic engagement.
- Research: Gather information and data by utilizing evaluative tools and metrics
- Communications: Work with our local partners and coalitions in developing messages relevant to their outreach and voter contact plans.
- Education: Emphasize the importance of voting and civic engagement and illustrate how elected officials and ballot measures directly affect AAPIs
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