MILWAUKEE — With Election Day right around the corner, local leaders took time to rally Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the polls.
Though the AAPI community is not the majority, their votes can certainly make a difference in both the tight U.S. Senate and Governor's races.
Erik Kennedy leads ElevAsian, the local AAPI organization currently working to make sure no votes are left on the table throughout Milwaukee's AAPI community.
"Studies have shown we're the least engaged group," said Kennedy.
According to Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, 52% of AAPI voters across the country have never heard from the Democratic Party and 60% have never heard from the Republican Party.
Despite engagement, AAPI numbers show the small margin could tip the scale in this midterm election.
"Just to give you the context, in the 2020 presidential election the AAPI community - which is the fastest-growing racial and ethnic minority in the country - was the margin of victory in key battleground states including here in Wisconsin," said Harini Krishnan, National Chair for the South Asians for America.
As the stakes grow high, AAPI leaders hope despite not being the majority, their voices will be heard.
"A hard-fought lesson in our communities is that if you don't vote, you don't count. And we are kind of told that indirectly by not just both parties but candidates themselves in how they choose to make their decisions and how they choose to pay attention to different issues," said Ron Kuramoto, president of the Japanese American Citizens League.