Pointing to 2010 Census figures on the state’s burgeoning Asian population, elected

Pointing to 2010 Census figures on the state’s burgeoning Asian population, elected officials and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center said registering eligible voters was crucial to their advancement.

On Friday, Rep. Judy Chu, D-El Monte, and her husband, Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Alhambra, along with representatives from the legal center announced a statewide citizenship and voting registration drive, with the first workshop planned in Rosemead.

About 15.5 percent of California residents are Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, said Stewart Kwoh, president and executive director of APALC, yet they only make up 10 percent of the electorate.

“Forty-one percent of people who are naturalized citizens are not registered to vote,” Kwoh said. “There is a civic engagement gap in our community.”

The effort, coined as the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Naturalization Network, will offer free citizenship application workshops in six regions throughout California.

Organizers said they will help green-card residents determine if they’re eligible for citizenship and assess their eligibility for application waivers.

At his Alhambra office Friday, Eng said although Asians represent a large voting bloc, some don’t take the necessary steps to exercise their rights.

“Throughout California, more than 800,000 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are eligible or soon to be eligible to naturalize,” Eng said. “In Los

Angeles County alone 254,000 are eligible and many of them are right here in the San Gabriel Valley.”
The group will make material available in English and seven Asian languages.

The first free citizenship workshop will be held at the Rosemead Community Center, 3936 Muscatel Ave., Saturday from 10 p.m. to 4 p.m.

To make an appointment, or for more information, call 213-977-7500.

adolfo.flores@sgvn.com
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