Hotline Established for Nov 2nd General Elections

In light of the November 2nd General Elections, the Korean American Voters’ Council organized an election hotline to answer Korean-Americans’ questions regarding election procedures and complaints. From the week of Nov. 25th, the KAVC received a total of one hundred fifteen phone calls. The questions consisted of election site inquiries, voter registration confirmations, etc. Questions about Korean-friendly candidates were asked more than ever. We can see that Korean-Americans are not just curious about election rules or voter registrations, but their awareness of their importance in voting has increased. The importance of continuing effort in increasing awareness of candidates and elections among Korean-Americans was realized. As a response, the KAVC will create programs next year to cater to the Korean-American community’s needs for next year’s elections.

Many Korean-Americans expressed problems at the election sites. At Cliffside Park, NJ, the Board of Elections worker was not educated properly, hindering a Korean-American from voting. The KAVC notified the Bergen County Board of Elections immediately and helped the caller complete voting procedures. In Staten Island, there was a person who voted for many years at the voting site, called us and told us that his name was not on the list so he wasn’t able to vote. KAVC helped the caller vote and moved to resolve the problem later on.

Starting last month, the Korean American Voters’ Council helped sixty-four Korean translaters volunteer for the upcoming Election Day in Queens County. However, many Koreans were not assigned to posts at voting sites. They were found to have not completed the necessary training or did not fill out the necessary information on their application. In Queens, due to a lack of Korean translators, Korean support services are decreasing. To alleviate this problem, the KAVC will help educate prospective Korean translator volunteers to prepare for next year’s election.