APIAVote Partners' Meeting Strengthens APIAVote Partner Field Work in 12 States, Including Key Swing States and AAPI-Heavy States

Las Vegas, NV--Over 20 participants representing over 12 different states gathered in Nevada this past weekend to participate in APIAVote's Partners' Meeting, a boot camp emphasizing strong and voter mobilization plans and accompanying evaluation metrics.

APIAVote core and affiliate partners are already conducting voter education, registration, and mobilization activities throughout at least 12 states. These states include  battleground states, such as Washington, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, and AAPI-heavy states, such as California and New York, where AAPI voters can be the key difference in local, state, and national races.

During the day-and-a-half long training, participants learned the basics of evaluation tools and brainstormed on ideas to incorporate them into their existing voter mobilization plan. In addition, they were able to consult with APIAVote staff members and consultants on hand to discuss field strategies, communications planning, and evaluation tools.

"The weekend provided much-needed training for our fall GOTV efforts in Philadelphia. Now that I have a field plan, I feel more confident that we will reach our voter registration and voter engagement goals. Connecting with GOTV leaders from across the country provides a valueable support network as we head into the fall," said Michelle Wong of APIAVote-Pennsylvania.

"The event was very helpful for Viet-Vote. I hope to keep this line of communication open as we continue to push forward in our efforts towards building a stronger voice for the Vietnamese community in Boston," said Thu Nguyen, of the Viet-Vote coalition in Boston, Massachusetts.

"The emphasis of this training was on a strategic and realistic voter mobilization plan that can be fully implemented and evaluated with the limited resources we know many of our organizations are operating with," said Kathleen Tapacio-Flores, national campaign director of APIAVote.

A surprise visit by Ambassador Sichan Siv further encouraged participants, as appropriate to the occasion, he briefly spoke of the importance of living the American dream through civic participation.

List of Participant Organizations & Coalitions:

• Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, APIAVote Core National Partner
• National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, APIAVote Core National Partner (CA, NY, IL)
• Southeast Asian Resource and Action Center, APIAVote Core National Partner
• APIAVote Michigan Coalition (Michigan)
• APIAVote Virginia Coalition (Northern Virginia)
• APIAVote Pennsylvania Coalition (Pennsylvania)
• APIAVote Washington/APALA/ROAR (Washington state)
• Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (Oregon)
• Center for Pan Asian Community Services (Georgia)
• Chinatown Community Development Center (San Francisco, CA)
• Filipinos for Affirmative Action (Oakland, California)
• Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota (Minnesota)
• One Nevada Coalition (Nevada)
• Filipino American Service Group, Inc./ Fil-Vote (Los Angeles, CA)
• Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans (Louisiana)
• Viet-Vote (Massachusetts)
• Young Korean American Service & Education Consortium (New York)

Staff: Vida Benavides, Kathleen Tapacio-Flores, Naomi T. Tacuyan, Alvina Yeh

Consultants: Eli Il Young Lee (APIAVote board member), Mini Timmaraju, Shang Ha, Steve Clermont

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