“Visiting voters and having conversations at the door has been proven, time and time again, to be the single most effective way to encourage new and infrequent voters to vote,” said Dayne Lee, Civic Participation Coordinator at KRC.
On October 12, with 45 campaign fellows and over 100 volunteers, the KRC succeeded in contacting over 30,000 Korean-American eligible voters, hoping for the largest voter turnout. Through canvassing and phone banking, the organization was able to contact 21,773 voters in Los Angeles County and 6352 voters in Orange County. The KRC subsequently released its Voter Guide, Proposition Recommendations for the voters, especially stressing the adoption of Proposition 30. Proposition 30 seeks to temporarily raise the sales tax by 0.25% for seven years and raise the income taxes for the top 1~2% of income earners and married households with incomes over $500,000. This would allow the state government to spend approximately $9 billion a year in K-12 schools, California State Universities, and the University of California system.
“I am concerned because the quality of education is decreasing every year,” says Youngki Lee, a senior at Van Nuys High School. “I hope we can save the schools by passing Proposition 30.”
In an attempt to garner further support from the large Korean-American demographics in Southern California, the KRC is currently recruiting the youths to become involved in the process. Dayne Lee said, “They’re a great chance for youth (and all people) to get involved in raising our community’s voice, get volunteer hours, meet new friends, and even make a small stipend of $10/hour!”
In an attempt to increase the youth perspective on voting and to further the interests of Korean-Americans, the KRC is doing all it can to create a larger turnout in the polls in the California ballot measures. With continued efforts through voter outreach measures, KRC hopes to increase the Korean-American community’s power in the November 6 election.
