MIV Post-elections Reflections (November 2008)

From Mobilize the Immigrant Vote

Initial Post-elections Reflections from the MIV Steering Committee

We congratulate the hundreds of organizations and individuals who united in educating immigrant families and mobilizing immigrant voters to the polls on November 4th! The MIV 2008 California Campaign brought together 128 diverse organizations across the state around a seven-point issue platform, demonstrating that tens of thousands of immigrants and U.S.-born Californians are not only committing to vote, but also committing to vote for a more just and humane future for their families and for the country.

What California Immigrant Voting Means for Our State and Country

As in states across the country, California saw historic voter participation in 2008, particularly among immigrant communities and communities of color. 12,453,042^[1] California voters cast their ballot on November 4th, with the highest number of immigrant voters in any state in the U.S. “California immigrants are crucial for local, statewide and national public policy victories and have a major influence on the national ethnic media,” shares Mari Ryono, MIV Coordinating Director. “With enthusiasm and resolve, millions of California immigrants and their family members participated in the political process on election day. In 2009 and beyond, the California immigrant electorate and California immigrant organizations will leverage that power for social change causes including economic equality, immigration reform, and quality health care.”

Youth leaders of Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) get out the vote

The overwhelming defeat of Proposition 6 (69.5% No^[2]) was a major victory for youth and immigrant advocates and a historic moment for alliance-building. Proposition 6 would have increased funding for prisons, tried more youth as adults in criminal court, and increased the collaboration between local law enforcement and Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE). More than any other proposition, Proposition 6 was the centerpiece for voter education of MIV partner organizations in California. Marginalized groups came together to say no to the criminalization of poor communities of color. “There is now a generation of youth, immigrants, and grassroots leaders who are emboldened by the No on Proposition 6 victory and will use this mandate to organize locally, statewide and nationally for immigrant rights and social justice,” expresses Allison Lum of Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action (PILA).

The Difference MIV Made

In a time when wedge issues divided many communities, 128 organizations across California signed on to the 2008 MIV Immigrant Voices Platform, a non-partisan articulation of what issues and values our communities were voting for on November 4th. This platform was developed with the input of partner and ally organizations across the state. As Evelyn Sanchez of the Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition (BAIRC) comments, “we always knew what we were fighting for as a social justice immigrant coalition, but this was the first time where we had it clearly stated in collaboration with organizations across the state.” MIV distributed 164,044 voter guides and voting rights palm cards across the California. Says Sophya Chum of Khmer Girls in Action in Long Beach, “There were a lot of propositions that had huge impacts on our communities, and some required difficult and challenging conversations, such as Proposition 4 and 8. I’m glad that MIV was willing to engage our immigrant communities on these issues to ensure that everyone’s rights are protected.”

In 2008, MIV worked more closely with 29 grassroots immigrant organizations leading get-out-the-vote programs across the state. The purpose of this program, or “M.O.V.E.” (Movement-building Organizations for Voting and Long-term Empowerment), was to bring organizations together regionally for mutual learning and to support them with resources, voter technology, and tools for their get-out-the-vote field campaigns and to advance their social justice agenda. MOVE partner organizations contacted over 30,000 immigrant voters to get out the vote. “We were contacting Latino and Vietnamese voters who aren’t targeted by traditional political machines,” shares Cesar Juarez of Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN) in San Jose. “Many of the voters we contacted were not informed of the important issues on the ballot and had not received a single piece of literature or a single call before hearing from us. We were able to provide immigrant voters with critical education on statewide ballot measures through the MIV voter guides.” A key component of the MOVE program was access to the Voter Activation Network (VAN) which allowed partners to manage their voter data online using state-of-the-art technology. According to Francisco Sola of the Riverside Latino Voter Project, “We helped mobilize students from UC Riverside and Riverside Community College to register and vote at early poll sites and on election day. The UCR campus has the most diverse student body in the UC system, and the support provided by the MIV 2008 California Campaign contributed to the historic immigrant turnout on November 4th.”

A Closer Look at Proposition 8: a Case for Cross-community Organizing, Voter Education, and Alliance-building

Monica Rocha de Leyva of Latinos y Latinas en Acción educates voters in San Diego

The passage of Proposition 8, which proposed a state constitutional amendment to define marriages as only between a man and a woman, has been headline news across the country. One important less-mentioned point is that we are seeing a shift in the consciousness of the California electorate on the issue of gay marriage and LGBT rights. Evidence for this is that in 2000, Proposition 22—a similar proposal seeking to change the California Family Code—passed with 61.4% voting yes^[3]. Final results will be released in December.. In 2008, only 52.2% voted yes^[4]—a significant 9.2% difference. In 2008, MIV partner organizations across the state engaged with tens of thousands of immigrant voters and families. When they brought a human face to the discussion, partner organizations reported high rates of shifts from Yes on 8 to No on 8 positions within the immigrant community. “Yes on 8 advocates were telling our communities that gay marriage was a step towards the end of Christianity. When we talked about the civil rights and the real people at stake, we saw many voters change their positions. On a sensitive issue such as this one, we have to have more personal conversations with voters,” states Dae Joong Yoon of the Korean Resource Center (KRC). One concern that immigrant communities have post-elections is that some are pointing their fingers to Black and Latino communities as to why Proposition 8 passed. This does not acknowledge, among many things, that Black, Latino and Asian Pacific Islander communities were systematically targeted by the Yes on 8 Campaign. In the historically Black community of Bay View in San Francisco, for example, voters reported receiving robocalls and mailers misleading voters and suggesting that Barack Obama supported a Yes on 8 position. The results of Proposition 8 are an affirmation that those of us who want to see social justice—at the ballot box and beyond—must invest in year-round, multi-year education, organizing, and alliance-building to engage and unite the electorate.

The Untold Story of Voter Suppression

The violent attack on Francesca Barua, a Latina lesbian in Oakland, CA, the murder of Marcello Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant in Suffolk County, NY, and the beating of Alie Kamara, a Black Staten Island teenager, are just three examples of the increase in hate crimes in 2008. According to the FBI, anti-Latino hate crimes increased by 40% between 2003 and 2007^[5]. Several elections observers and county registrars across the country have reported fewer cases of voter suppression than expected. However, a key story missing from this message is the overall climate of fear for immigrants and communities of color that escalated further in 2008 and impacted immigrants’ and Black Americans’ experiences within the political process.

Several MIV partners reported that their grassroots volunteers were more fearful to participate in precinct walking, public events, and even voting in 2008. “Forty-two percent of California children and adults speak a language other than English at home^[6],” says Xiomara Corpeño of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), “yet language services for limited English proficient voters still have not caught up. In an election year, the overall climate of hate towards immigrants translates into some elections officials and workers feeling that they don’t have to respond to the requests or needs of immigrant voters and voters of color. It translates into immigrants hesitating to ask questions, to ask for a ballot in another language, or to demand that other voting rights be recognized.”

In a time of great celebration for the increased immigrant voter turnout and overall civic participation of Americans, we must not forget this often untold story of the suppression of immigrant voters, immigrant communities, and communities of color. These attacks are evidence that there is still much work to be done to take on racist and anti-immigrant worldviews. “Immigrants are being sent the message that this is not your country. In 2008, MIV and our partner organizations sent the opposite message with huge success. This is your country and you have a leadership role to play,” says Nancy Berlin of the California Partnership (CAP).

2009-2012: MIV’s Mission More Relevant than Ever

Chinese Progressive Association youth leaders prepare to "trick or vote" in San Francisco

On the heels of this historic election, the country’s charge is now to maintain and cultivate the engagement we saw among immigrant, youth, Latino, Asian and Black voters. What will be the agenda of this base? Will they become an even more consistent and formidable electorate? The mission of MIV and MIV’s partner organizations to promote year-round civic engagement, leadership development, and deep education is more critical than ever since research suggests that these new voters may very well “go cold” without ongoing engagement and contact.

2009 will be a critical year for 2010-2012 planning, political education, infrastructure development, and issue campaigns that engage these newly-invigorated voters and leverage the electoral power of immigrant communities. MIV is asking all of our 128 campaign partners to share your results, reflections, and evaluative feedback through an online survey. We will be sharing the results of that survey in spring 2009 as well as releasing a documentary short on MIV 2008, highlighting key results of the statewide campaign and two case studies in Southern California. We will convene our MOVE 2008 partners for an in-person post-elections discussion in January 2009.

We would like to be in dialogue with you to hear your critical analysis on the 2008 elections, to learn what your plans are for 2009 and beyond, and to explore how we can collaborate more in the future. Let us know what you think of our reflections, and let’s continue the conversation.

A Big Thank You

Finally, we would like to extend thanks to all the organizations and individuals who helped make the MIV 2008 California Campaign possible, including…

All of Our General Campaign Partner Organizations!

The MOVE 2008 Partner Organizations

• Bay Area: Chinese Progressive Association, Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth, Dolores Street Community Services, Filipinos for Affirmative Action, PODER, South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN)/Bayanihan, Chinatown Community Development Center, Filipino Community Center
• South Bay: Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN), Somos Mayfair
• Central Valley: Fresno Center for New Americans, Faith and Community, Unión de Exbraceros y de Inmigrantes, CIMA
• San Bernardino/Riverside: Librería del Pueblo, Riverside Latino Voter Registration and Education Project, San Bernardino ACORN
• Los Angeles/Orange Counties/Santa Barbara: Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Coalition LA, Khmer Girls in Action (KGA), Korean Resource Center, Orange County Korean-US Citizens League, LA Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness, CARECEN, PUEBLO
• San Diego: Latinos y Latinas en Acción, Justice Overcoming Boundaries (JOB), San Diego ACORN, All of Us or None

Our Funding Partners Who Stand with California Immigrants for a Better Future

San Francisco Foundation, the Akonadi Foundation, the McKay Foundation, the Tides Foundation, the Color of Democracy Fund, the Four Freedoms Fund, Educational Foundation of America, the Open Society Institute, the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, the Solidago Foundation, the Mitchell Kapor Foundation, the French American Charitable Trust and the Fund for Nonviolence.

Dan Ancona with California VoterConnect and the Alliance for Justice team

who provided invaluable technical assistance, wisdom, and support

The We Are America Alliance

which united immigrant electoral organizing efforts across the country and provided support to the MIV 2008 California Campaign

The Progressive Technology Project

who is working to strengthen MIV’s systems and infrastructure

Amos Lim of API Equality and Maria Nakae of Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ) and EMERJ

who developed the wedge issue curricula in collaborative with Evelyn Sanchez of the MIV Steering Committee

Alicia Criado of the Ella Baker Center, Lisa Adler of the Labor Community Strategy Center, Javier Angulo of the No on Proposition 8 Campaign, and Dana Paredes of ACRJ

who contributed to our education on key statewide ballot measures

Allies who assisted with the translation and writing of the voter guide and statewide ballot one-pagers

Elisa Lo, Hai Binh Nguyen, Angelica Cabande, Evelyn Sanchez, Trangdai Glassey-Tranguyen, Armida Sawan, Ed Valladarez, Ruby Marquez, Joseph Villela, Armida Sawan, Yongho Kim, Tuan Nguyen, Hee Joo Yoon

Lina Hoshino and Derek Chung of Tactile Pictures

for graphic design support and Carol Cantwell and the McKay Foundation for financial coaching

The California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC), the California Alliance, and the Pushback Network

from whom and with whom we have learned

With the warmest of wishes,

The MIV Steering Committee

• Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition (BAIRC)
• California Partnership (CAP)
• Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)
• Korean Resource Center (KRC)
• Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action (PILA)
• ( Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN)

The MIV Centralized Staff

• Mari Ryono, Coordinating Director
• Lolita Roibal, Program Director

Footnotes

1. ↑ Initial results from the California Secretary of State website (http://www.sos.ca.gov/). Final results will be released in December.
2. ↑ Initial results from the California Secretary of State website (http://www.sos.ca.gov/). Final results will be released in December.
3. ↑ California Secretary of State website (http://www.sos.ca.gov/)
4. ↑ Initial results from the California Secretary of State website (http://www.sos.ca.gov/)
5. ↑ Federal Bureau of Investigation (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2007/index.html)
6. ↑ 2005 U.S. Census Results (http://factfinder.census.gov/)