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Doing Our Part


Photo Credit: Western States Center
 Over the past two weeks, C and I had a number of wonderful opportunities to take part in elections work around important measures in Oregon and Washington.

On a drizzly Sunday, we joined Basic Rights of Oregon and Western States Center to canvass among households of color in Vancouver, and urge voters to approve the marriage equality measure in Washington. It was our first experience in door-knocking, and the topic itself wasn't exactly an easy conversation to start with complete strangers. But Western States Center and Basic Rights Oregon put together an effective training program, arming volunteers with key points to emphasize when discussing the issue.

Our focus was to talk about the reasons why straight couples get married, for love and commitment. Gay and lesbian couples want the same things from a marriage, and everyone deserves the right to marry whomever they please. I'm grateful for the opportunity to experience canvassing with such experienced community organizers.

In Oregon, we were pleased to help document and participate in "Get Out the Vote" phone banks with the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon. Over the past few months, I helped with the New American Voters Project, helping with voter registration for newly American citizens. The APANO phone banks allowed us to connect directly with API voters, reminding them to vote, offering assistance to obtain replacement ballots, and when and where to turn ballots in. In all, APANO hosted 10 phone banks drawing over 70 volunteers and connecting with almost 2,000 voters. Each of the phone banks were nonpartisan, and staffed by folks fluent in Asian languages, such as Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Hindi, Cambodian, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, and more. Listening to volunteers talk to voters in their native languages was quite the experience -- a superb reminder of why I am proud to call America my home. More pics from the phone banks here.



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