A historic moment for voting rights is under course right now in San Francisco. For decades, Chinese for Affirmative Action has lead efforts to give immigrant communities a voice in the city. These efforts culminated in the passage of Proposition N in 2016 which gives SFUSD immigrant parents the right to vote in this year’s November school board election.
As a member of Immigrant Parent Voting Collaborative, CAA has worked diligently to ensure that immigrant parents are fully aware of their rights and risks associated with this new civic opportunity. For example, this past May the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an initiative to strengthen the implementation process for EDU voting by giving guidance to the Department of Elections on improving language access, mitigating risks of voter error and providing immigrant rights-related protections. This is especially important given the increased surveillance and immigration enforcement by the Trump administration.
In continuing this work, CAA has worked closely with collaborative partner Mission Economic Development Agency to design and distribute materials on the new voting initiative to immigrant parents. Last Wednesday, 55,000 San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) students brought home brochures detailing EDU voting. This was made possible due to the hard work of CAA staff who facilitated the ordering, bundling and delivery of the brochures to SFUSD for distribution to 107 schools. The brochures that parents received outline noncitizen vote eligibility, the voting process, and the risks involved in voting. Also detailed are “Know Your Rights” information for immigrant parents and contact information for each member organization of the Immigrant Parent Voting Collaborative.
Important Dates
- September 22, 2018 – Legal Screening Event, MEDA
- October 11, 2018 – Board of Education Forum and Screening Event, Everett Middle School
- October 22, 2018 – Last day for mail-in voter registration (You can still register in person at City Hall up until Election Day, but you would need to vote at the same time)
- November 6, 2018 – Election Day
More Resources
- Website (YouCanVoteSF.org)
- Digital Brochures (Arabic, Chinese, English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese)
- Frequently Asked Questions (Arabic, Chinese, English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese)
- Registration Guide (Arabic, Chinese, English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese)
