Babu Tangewala
ATLANTA: Coming close on the heels of an unprecedented level of Asian American turnout in Georgia, the Asian American Advocacy Fund (Political Action Committee is launching a new initiative aimed at capitalizing upon the success of the organization’s 2020 federal election outreach to ensure that Asian American voters participate in the January 5 2021 runoff election. The new campaign Asian Americans for Ossoff and Warnock will be run by a “dream team” of Asian American political organizers, both within Atlanta and on a national level.
“Whether you care about climate, immigration, or the economy, the road to progress runs through Georgia,” said Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, Executive Director AAAF. “Asian voters came out in November because voters understood that our communities were on the line. This is no less true in January, and we’re committed to doing everything we can to ensure that Jon Ossoff and Rafael Warnock represent Georgia in the United States Senate next year.”
This new campaign will utilize and reinvigorate the infrastructure and organizing networks built by the Asians for Abrams campaign in 2018, serving as the leading in-language field operation to reach Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. These voters, while traditionally low-propensity, flexed their political muscle in November: 2020 early voters alone exceeded 2016 turnout by 59%. Of early voters 30,473 voted for the first time in their life, while 61,829 didn’t vote in 2016. There are more than 240,000 voters currently on the rolls.
“Asian American voters were a critical part of the coalition that delivered the state to Joe Biden,” said NseUfot, Executive Director of the New Georgia Project. “Ossoff and Warnock’s success at the ballot box is dependent upon the same diverse coalition.”
Asians for Ossoff& Warnock, is a campaign funded by the Asian American Advocacy Fund Political Action Committee (AAAF-PAC). AAAF-PAC is affiliated with the Asian American Advocacy Fund, Inc. (AAAF), a 501(c)(4) grassroots organization dedicated to building a politically-conscious, engaged, and progressive Asian American base in Georgia.
