Los Angeles, CA – On Wednesday, October 19, 2016, CAUSE hosted a multilingual Voter Education and Registration Workshop at the Grand Plaza Senior Apartments in Chinatown, Los Angeles. CAUSE Board Chair Charlie Woo and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles Project Coordinator Maxine Hu, conducted the workshop and presentation with simultaneous translation in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin Chinese.
The workshop was geared towards primarily Chinese-speaking seniors looking for more easily accessible information about voter registration, ballot information, and general questions regarding the upcoming general elections. The workshop helped to inform over 100 senior citizens on various propositions that would be on their November ballot.
The propositions covered included:
Proposition 55: “Tax Extension to Fund Education and Healthcare”
Proposition 56: “Cigarette Tax to Fund Healthcare & Tobacco Use Prevention Efforts”
Proposition 57: “Parole for Non-Violent Criminals and Juvenile Court Trial”
Proposition 61: “Drug Price Standards Initiative”
Propositions 62 & 66: “Repeal of the Death Penalty” and “Death Penalty Procedures”
Propositions 64: “California Marijuana Legalization Initiative”
Propositions 65 & 67: “Dedication of Revenue from Disposable Bag Sales to Wildlife Conservative Fund” and “Plastic Bag Ban Veto Referendum”
Measure M: “Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan
The workshop also included an overview session about their polling location and how seniors could cast their ballots.
Volunteers and staff were on site and provided much-needed help to those who wanted to register to vote. Voter registration and education materials provided by the California Secretary of State and Los Angeles County Registrar’s office were readily available. Many of the seniors at the workshop were interested in re-registering to vote as permanent vote-by-mail voters.
Throughout the presentation, senior citizens actively discussed the ballot measures and were most interested in the initiatives affecting the use of plastic bags: Proposition 65 and Proposition 67. Attendees left the workshop more informed about the upcoming elections and were encouraged to make their votes count.