These aren’t the election results you deserve, but these are the election results you’re going to get right now (Infographic by APAICS).
2014 was a record-breaking year for Asian American and Pacific Islander political candidates: this year, 39 AAPI candidates launched a campaign for Congressional office compared to 29 in 2012 and only 8 in 2010. 22 AAPI candidates made it past their primary races compared to only 13 two years ago. Four AAPIs were running in a gubernatorial race with an additional 3 competing for the Lt. Governor’s office in Hawaii. An unprecedented 159 AAPI candidates were running for a local elected office in 26 states.
Election Night 2014 was certainly shaping up to be a big night for AAPI political representation. Sadly, this just wasn’t our year. After the jump, here’s the the breakdown of what happened last night.
It’s that time again – today is Election Day, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. AAPI aren’t traditionally viewed as a significant coalition of voters; yet nothing could be further from the truth. Voting is, in fact, an essential component of American citizenship and a right that all AAPI voters should exercise today and on all Election Days.
Here are the top 10 reasons why you should head to the polls today, if you haven’t already.
Consequently, several mainstream media outlets have reported on the stark racial divide between Black and White Americans on Ferguson and whether or not racism is a problem in America; nearly half surveyed White Americans think Brown’s shooting death is being overracialized. While two-thirds of Black Americans think excessive force by police is a problem, only one-third of White Americans agree. This clear chasm between Black and White attitudes on race and police effectiveness is both well-documented and not altogether surprising: these answers are heavily influenced by one’s own personal experiences with racism and police brutality, and both economic and skin privilege often protects Whites from unjust run-ins with local police.
But where do Asian Americans — who are both people of colour yet who endure a completely different set of racial stereotypes in America than do other minorities — fall on questions of police brutality?
So I have some very bad news everybody. I just heard from the Hawaii State Attorney General’s Office today, who told me that the #iVOTED contest is in violation of a Hawaii State Election Fraud statute, specifically Chapter 19-3, which you can read here:
As a result, I’m afraid I’m going to have to withdraw the #iVOTED contest. I’m so sorry to everyone who took the time to submit. I received some really amazing photos and was so impressed with how enthusiastic you guys were. If I could think of any legal way to keep it going, I would do it in a heartbeat. I’ve even thought of other alternatives I could offer to encourage people, but apparently it’s even illegal to offer a tweet session to say thanks. Again, sorry.Though I’m happy to comply with the law, I do have to say that it saddens me that in the state with the lowest voter turnout in America…
Whether or not I’m able to host a contest though, I hope you’ll still get out there and please vote; and I really hope you’ll keep sending me pics and tweets showing you did. I promise you I’ll be smiling when I see them.
Thanks again everybody. Also mahalo to Hawaiian Airlines and The Modern Honolulu Hotel for their support. I’ll see you on twitter, Facebook and of course, your TV screens.
With deepest aloha-
Daniel
That totally sucks, because I thought DDK’s contest was creative and inspiring — a testament to his interest in encouraging civic participation. And, besides, y’all should be voting anyways, folks!
So, even though DDK had to withdraw his contest, this isn’t any reason to choose not to vote. Vote now, vote early, vote by mail. vote on Tuesday (ok, don’t do all those things at the same time though; that would be both a time paradox and voter fraud). Further, just because you won’t get a chance to fly to Hawaii and meet Daniel Dae Kim and the cast of Hawaii 5-0 is no reason to notstill Tweet fun pictures showing evidence that you voted with the hashtag #iVoted to @danieldaekim.
Yeah, that’s right. I’m advocating spamming @danieldaekim with #iVoted pictures.
And yeah, maybe you won’t win a trip to Hawaii. But, you could still entertain the coolest celebrity on the planet with your civic involvement. Just a modest thank you for having been willing to host this contest in the first place.
