A Harlem Blessing for Barack

by Erin Siegal

Democratic Party supporters react as they watch US President-elect Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) give his victory speech on television in Harlem, New York, November 5, 2008. 

More work at www.erinsiegal.com or www.rine.wordpress.com.

Joining the Vote Without Casting a Ballot

by Annie Jia and Paul Stephen

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is stationed at more than 30 New York City polls, in neighborhoods where there is a significant Asian-American presence. Most of the sites are in Queens, including in Flushing, where some who can’t vote because they’re not citizens are nevertheless helping out.

The Other McCain

by Tim Loh

The Sweet Vote

by Sarah Breger and Evelyn Hsieh

THE SWEET VOTE: CLICK TO PLAY

Wear Your Politics

by Laura Nahmias and Amy Tennery

Asian Americans Work the Polls

by Richard Solash and Brent Lang

On Election Day, Williamsburg’s P.S. 250 is transformed from school to voting site. Representatives of the national Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund are stationed here, in this largely Asian-American corner of the borough, to ensure that translation services are available to voters. They’re also monitoring reports of name misspellings and voter disenfranchisement, and collecting exit poll data. This year, the group has relied more than ever on young volunteers, having started a Facebook group to target this demographic. Margaret Fung, executive director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, says that the number of her group’s volunteers nationwide has risen nearly 30% in the last four years, now topping 1,400. Many are under age 30. Among its Election Day volunteers are law school, college and high school students.

Jennvine Wong, a 24-year-old student at Brooklyn Law School and a volunteer for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, is stationed at P.S. 250 from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. In 2004, she was a volunteer on Election Day, conducting exit polls. This year, she addresses voter complaints. Rude poll workers and not enough translators are the two major gripes this year, she says. Wong says only three out of the five Chinese-English translators that should be stationed at P.S. 250 are actually available. She peeks at the Asian-American voter exit data that has been collected today: “It has been kind of split down the middle with the older generation voting more Republican and the younger generation voting more Democrat.”

Wong and her colleagues ask Asian-American voters leaving P.S. 250 to fill out a brief survey. In Chinese on one side and English on the other, the 20 questions solicit demographic data and ask which candidate the person voted for. They also ask: “In voting today, did you use an interpreter?” “Was it difficult to vote because translations on ballots were too small to read?” and “Did you encounter any problems when you voted?”

 

At 10:40 a.m., Wong calls the Board of Elections after she receives an exit survey that complains of a broken voting machine. “I’m still on hold,” she complains, five minutes later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of Wong’s colleagues is Mabel Tso, a 28-year-old community organizer for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Election Day is one of her busiest days of the year. She will soon have to leave P.S. 250 to check on fellow fund workers at other polling sites around Brooklyn. Until then, she assists voters in filling out surveys.