Jun 12 2008
Will South Asians Vote in 2008? Let’s Wait and See….
Are you going to vote during the 2008 Presedential elections? Chances are, if you’re South Asian, the answer for half of you is NO. But why is that? Don’t people (South Asians) understand that if more and more South Asians vote in the public polls, then we provide strength and attention to the South Asian community as a whole?
Currently, although South Asians are one of the most predominant and educated ethnic groups in the United States, we still seem to be failing in casting our votes for any public election. Is this because of our laziness, or is it because we feel that our vote doesn’t count in the grand scheme of things? Or maybe its because we don’t like providing demographical information about ourselves, which is required when we vote? Shoot, I bet if all of the South Asians in Houston had voted in the last election, you’d be guaranteed to see Obama porched up on Hillcroft next to Roop Sari Palace trying to speak Hindi while eating a samosa! That’s exactly what we need for our local and national South Asian businesses and organizations - attention.
One organization who is dedicated to promoting the South Asian Youth Vote and strengthening the South Asian political voice is SAAVY (South Asian American Voting Youth). SAAVY is an organization that wants to promote the South Asian political vote in order to force politicians to focus more of their attention on the South Asian community. Their strategy for accomplishing this is to ensure that all South Asians take part in their public elections. Here is an excerpt from the SAAVY.org website, which states their mission:
The mission is to empower South Asian American youth 18-25 yrs to be a unified political voice and will allow South Asian American issues to be pushed to the forefront of American politics. We will educate, organize and mobilize South Asian youth to create a national united voice and increase political participation as well as civic engagement.”
So what’s YOUR reason not to vote this year? We want to hear what’s keeping our South Asian communities (especially our Youth) from going to the polls and strengthening the voice of the South Asian community.
Still need to Register to vote? Register to vote here.
I’m registered and i’m ready to vote this year. BUT, i think this trend of voting will start to grow more among second generation South Asians. Many First Generation South Asian immigrants to this country have not voted, and I don’t expect them to over the next few years (and even this election). I think its because they all needed to wait until they recieved citizenship, and even after that, they were not educated enough about the election system to understand the impact it could have on their community.
I think Saavy is doing a great job on focusing on the YOUTH because they are the next face for the South Asian community. Good luck to that group.
Why would I vote when people like Bobby Jindal are in office and still don’t take care of the South Asian population? Answer me that.
Not to sound harsh, but i think the better strategy is to focus in on your local communities and form groups to gain attention from your local leaders. Only then can we start to build a foundation of power within our community.
Start from the bottom and then work your way up.
DD,
That is a very narrow minded way of thinking. Even if you haven’t personally experienced the benefits from the LA governer Jindal, that doesn’t totally mean he hasn’t helped the South Asian community. You can’t base your argument off of assumptions.
I think the best way to judge is to read up on him. Here is an article I found on Little India (from a while back).
http://www.littleindia.com/december2004/JindalGoestoWashington.htm
Personally, I did find it a little odd that he changed his name and faith prior to going into office, but he states within the article that representing the South Asian community is a responsibility that he does accept and is excited to do.