MinKwon Center Celebrates Voter Registration Milestone And Urges Community to Register and Vote
Flushing, NY—The MinKwon Center for Community Action hosted a press conference today announcing a new milestone in voter registrations. Since 2004, the MinKwon Center’s nonpartisan civic participation team registered over 80,000 voters, or nearly 6,000 voters per year, continuing the organization’s trailblazing work in civic participation and voter mobilization in the Asian American community. John Park, Executive Director of the MinKwon Center was joined by Melody Lopez, Executive Director of the New York Civic Engagement Table, and Saima Anjam, Senior Director of Advocacy at the New York Immigration Coalition, in celebrating this milestone.
“We celebrate this milestone because it points to the growing power of our communities, and the decisive role Asian Americans can have in electing representatives who will fight for our communities,” said John Park, Executive Director of the MinKwon Center. “Although we are proud of this direct result, and MinKwon’s commitment over fourteen years to achieve it, it is one part of a larger initiative. APA VOICE (Asian Pacific American Voting & Organizing to Increase Civic Engagement), a MinKwon led coalition of 19 Asian American organizations committed to increasing civic engagement, is exponentially increasing our community’s voice and impact.”
“We congratulate the MinKwon Center for registering over 80,000 immigrants to vote,” said Melody Lopez, Executive Director of the New York Civic Engagement Table. “MinKwon demonstrates the mission that we have with all of our partners, and that is to have long-term, engagement with communities to register, vote and stay informed on important political issues and developments to build positive social change for our communities.”
“We are excited for the MinKwon Center and what will come next after 80,000 new immigrant voters,” said Saima Anjam, Senior Director of Advocacy of the New York Immigration Coalition. “We are excited for MinKwon because they are one of our strongest partners in our coalition, and because we understand that civic engagement goes hand-in-hand with advocacy and community organizing. Not only do our communities have the power to decide who should represent them in the halls of government, but our communities have the power to keep them accountable.”
The MinKwon Center urges all eligible New Yorkers to register by the October 12th deadline in order to vote on November 6, and to turn the ballot over to vote on the Citywide ballot measures. We also encourage immigrant voters to verify they voter registration status if they do not know it, register with us or at other community-based organizations if they have not already, utilize our voter education materials to make informed decisions at the polls, and to contact us if they have any unaddressed questions, concerns or problems to report.
The MinKwon Center for Community Action was established in 1984 to meet the needs and concerns of the Korean American community through immigrant rights and political empowerment. The MinKwon Center has emerged as a leading organization in building a sustained community for marginalized individuals, including recent immigrants, minorities, low-income residents, limited English proficient persons, elderly and youth.
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