Press Release

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund registers voters at the World Trade Center PATH Station on Voting Rights Act anniversary

New York, NY – In commemoration of the 43rd anniversary of the passage of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), a 34-year old civil rights organization, conducted a non-partisan voter registration drive for New York and New Jersey residents today.

AALDEF has organized voter registration drives in New York and New Jersey to increase voter participation for the upcoming 2008 elections. Over 600 individuals registered to vote as a result of the campaign this summer. According to the 2000 Census, among persons 18 years and over, only 43% of Asian Americans in New York and 58% of Asian Americans in New Jersey respectively, are registered. However, voter turnout of those registered is high: 83% in New York and 93% in New Jersey.

Glenn D. Magpantay, AALDEF staff attorney said, “Asian American voter turnout is very high, but we need to get more Asian Americans registered to vote. We hope to do that today, on the eve of anniversary of the federal Voting Rights Act.”

The voter registration drives are part of AALDEF’s Asian American Democracy Project, which does Election Day monitoring at polling places and also conducts the nation’s largest multilingual exit polls of Asian American voters. This November on Election Day, AALDEF will conduct exit polls and election monitoring in 12 states, including several boroughs in New York and several cities in New Jersey.

The voter registration drive today was held near the World Trade Center PATH Station at the corner of Church and Vesey Streets, in order to register both New York and New Jersey residents. Bilingual interpreters were on hand to assist limited English proficient individuals to register to vote. Registration forms were provided in multiple languages, including Chinese and Korean for New York residents and Chinese, Korean, and Gujarati for New Jersey residents.

For more information on how to participate in AALDEF’s voter registration drives or exit polling/poll monitoring project on Election Day, please visit www.aaldef.org or contact Bryan Lee at blee@aaldef.org or 212-966-5932.