FEATURE: The Asian Vote Candidates to vote for

THE ASIAN VOTE:

By Howard Chou Vice Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party

3 Democratic Senate Candidates to vote for

As we approach this November’s election, historically, Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) voting rates have never been high, especially in midterm elections like we are coming upon.

However, in 2018 we saw record increases in midterm election voting rates among both Asian Americans (28% in 2014 to 42% in 2018) and Pacific Islanders (33% in 2014 to 44% in 2018), according to AAPI Data. And though we saw around the same leaps in voting rates from 2016 to 2020, midterm elections never see the same turnout as presidential elections. So will AAPIs turnout in this year’s election?

In a study by APIAVote, the top issues AAPIs care about are: healthcare, jobs and the economy, education, gun safety and the environment, which they considered “extremely or very important” issues along with voting rights and addressing racism.

More than half of Asian American registered voters prefer voting by mail or drop off rather than in person at a polling place. And it’s no surprise 73% of Asian Americans worry about experiencing hate crimes, harassment and discrimination at least “sometimes”.

While Congress and the Governor elections draw the attention in the November election, there are three competitive State Senate seats we should focus on.

Districts 20 (Lakewood/Littleton), 24 (Thornton) and 27 (Centennial) have higher Asian and Pacific Islander voters than other Senate elections this year.

In these districts, all three Democratic candidates have been State Representatives since 2019 and have passed bills that address the concerns that AAPI voters care about mentioned above, while none of the Republican candidates have any legislative experience.

State Senate District 20 covers parts of Lakewood and Littleton in Jefferson County, where State Representative Lisa Cutter is the Democratic candidate.

She is a fierce defender of protect-

LISA CUTTER State Senate District 20 cutterforcolorado.com

ing Colorado’s environment and mitigating and preventing the wildfires; and she is a driving force for mental and behavioral health systems.

A prime sponsor for Wildfire Mitigation and Recovery (HB22-1121) Lisa is also the prime sponsor of bills that cover healthcare (HB19-1269), jobs and the economy (HB20-1413, HB20-1346), education (HB19-1277) and the environment (HB22-1355, HB22-1159, HB22-1345) just to name a few.

In Senate District 24, which covers

most of Thornton in Adams County, Democratic candidate House Representative Kyle Mullica is also a trauma nurse. He has focused on bills lowering health care costs, lowering cost of living, protecting environment and water, and promoting economic development.

A prime sponsor for School Immunization Requirement (HB19-1312) to ensure public health and to protect our students and educators, Kyle has been a prime sponsor for many healthcare bills (a few include HB19-1154, HB19-1105, HB20-1078) and higher education (HB21-1173), housing (HB22-1282), and gun safety (HB21-1106).

In Senate District 27, which covers mostly parts of Centennial, Aurora and Inverness area in Arapahoe County, Democratic candidate State Representative Tom Sullivan is a former postal worker and Air Force veteran looking to serve working families all over Colorado. As the father of a son murdered in the Aurora Theater Shooting in 2012, he championed the gun safety bill known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders (HB19-1177) along with other gun safety bills (HB20-1356, HB21-1299). Some of his other prime sponsored bills are in jobs and the economy (HB21-1264, HB21-1007), voter protection (HB22-1086), and education (HB19-1236).

All three Democratic candidates have sponsored bills like the Climate Action Plan to Reduce Pollution (HB19-1261) along with others to protect our climate and environment, improve our healthcare and lower its cost, stimulate economic growth, improve public education, and promote public safety.

When it’s time to vote for State Senators, choose those who share our values in the AAPI community and already have a proven track record at our State Capitol. If you live in Senate District 20, 24 or 27, Lisa Cutter, Kyle Mullica and Tom Sullivan are the clear choices to represent AAPIs.

KYLE MULLICA State Senate District 24 kylemullica.com

TOM SULLIVAN State Senate District 27 sullivanforcolorado.com

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