Currently, there are 96,619 registered Korean-American voters in Los Angeles County. Nearly half of these voters (45,180) are in the city of Los Angeles.
Steve Kang, Director of External Affairs at the Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC), presented the latest data from Political Data (PDI), a voter registration research organization, at a press conference held at the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles (KAFLA) on October 9.
This highlights the importance of voter registration for Korean Americans to participate in the elections. “100,000 votes in LA County and 45,000 votes in the city of Los Angeles can be a casting vote in these tight elections,” said Kang. “In order for Korean Americans to have political power, they need to register to vote.”
To that end, the KAFLA, KYCC, the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles (KACCLA), PAVA World, the Korean American Coalition, the Hwarang Youth Foundation, and the Dream Tree Youth Leaders Foundation are joining efforts to register voters.
The seven Korean-American organizations will be hosting booths in front of the LED screen on the first floor of Koreatown Plaza and at the offices of each participating organization from October 10 through 21 to register voters.
Those who wish to register to vote or need assistance can visit the booths with their IDs.
“Considering the current Korean American population, there are still not enough registered voters,” Kang said. ”People think that registering to vote will get them on a jury, but it has nothing to do with it, so they can rest assured that they can register.”
Voter registration information is maintained by county elections departments. Jury duty information, on the other hand, is tied to the state’s DMV system.
In the November election, voters will choose federal, state, and city representatives. In addition, the election will also determine the county district attorney, as well as a variety of local initiatives.
Therefore, it is important for Korean Americans to actively participate in the election to increase Korean-American political power and serve as a casting boat, Kang said.
“Korean Americans have made many economic and political achievements and are expanding their sphere of activity,” said Dongwan Chong, President of the KACCLA. ”We need more to register to vote and cast their ballots so that mainstream society will not take us lightly.”
“We need all Korean Americans who are not yet registered to vote to do so and exercise our rights together,” said Jeany Choi, Senior Manager of the Korean American Coalition.
“There is a shortage of bilingual poll workers at polling stations, and we hope that more people will volunteer,” she added.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM, HOONSIK WOO [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
