Filipino-Americans 'fired up' as Tagalog added to Nevada ballot

LAS VEGAS - Manny Pacquiao, roast pig dinners and prayer services: Activists are using every tool possible to get the booming Filipino-American community in Las Vegas to the polls for Saturday's Democratic nomination vote.

Overlooked in the past, Filipinos have rapidly become the western desert state's largest Asian-American community -- almost 200,000 by some estimates, in a state of 3 million people -- forcing candidates to take notice.

For the first time, the Tagalog language will be used on voting cards along with English and Spanish at the Democratic caucuses.

"We're proud that they are recognizing us," said Margie Gonzales, a Filipina community leader. "It means a lot -- it means recognition."

Gonzales, who chairs the county's Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) commission, has also begun training politicians to speak a few Tagalog words.

"When you start knocking on doors, it helps if you greet a Filipino family opening the door in Tagalog," she said. "That's a way to make that person smile -- you feel welcome."

Feeling welcome is key for a minority community in which immigration and xenophobia are major concerns. Like Latinos, Filipino-Americans tend to vote Democrat.

"When Trump talks about not bringing in relatives and things like that, that same thing applies to Asians," said Tick Segerblom, a commissioner for Clark County, where Las Vegas is located. "So Trump has really been a boon as far as organizing Asians."

But traditionally, Filipino-Americans have not voted in large numbers.

To counter that, Gonzales and her fellow activists introduced a tradition commonly found during election campaigns back in the Philippines -- the Kamayan, a large communal feast.

These typically see politicians mingle at long tables covered in banana leaves, with a whole roast pig on the menu.

'SQUEAK OF A MOUSE'

The feasts hosted in Las Vegas by Gonzales so far have not endorsed specific candidates. A grand Kamayan is planned once the Democratic Party settles on a nominee -- but that has not stopped those in the race from reaching out.

Democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard, who is Hawaiian, has made inroads, as have Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren.

"This is an overlooked and often ignored community and I feel like Elizabeth Warren celebrates our existence and doesn't use us as props," said Filipina campaign volunteer Ninna Diaz, 27.

The community is "definitely taking notice," she added. 

More recently, Gonzales has conducted Tagalog language caucus training for campaigns including that of Bernie Sanders.

"The mere fact that a lot of politicians are calling me and other Filipino-American leaders, it shows you that we are becoming important," she said.

"They are paying attention to us, because they know now that we vote."

She added: "Our voice used to be like the squeak of a mouse... But we are getting fired up now."

In a sign of the group's growing visibility, Segerblom and others are leading a campaign to rename a stretch of eastern Las Vegas, which is home to many community restaurants and stores, Little Filipinotown.

But Gonzales turned to one of the most visible icons of all -- global boxing superstar and Philippine Sen. Manny Pacquiao, who was in Las Vegas for a fight in 2014.

"We were able to get to his suite -- he posed with us, holding our banner," said Gonzales, who now uses the image to boost voter registration drives.

"It gets the Filipinos excited -- in fact, even non-Filipinos!"

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Restrictive rules keep millions of Americans from voting

WASHINGTON - Millions of Americans will be barred from casting ballots in Tuesday's crucial midterm elections due to electoral rules at the state level, which effectively exclude many minority voters to the detriment of Democrats.

Here's a look at states where these restrictions could impact the poll's outcome.

1.5 MILLION FLORIDIANS DISENFRANCHISED 

Nearly six million Americans are excluded from voting because they are imprisoned, on parole or awaiting sentencing.

African Americans, who are overrepresented in the US penal system, are four times more likely to be unable to vote than the rest of the population, according to The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit organization.

Rules vary widely state by state, with some like Maine and New Hampshire allowing inmates to vote.

But in places such as Kentucky, Iowa, Virginia and Florida, any conviction -- even for a minor offense like possession of marijuana -- results in lifelong disenfranchisement.

In Florida, where the Republican Donald Trump was just 112,000 votes ahead of his rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, nearly 1.5 million people are deprived of voting because of a criminal record.

In addition to choosing their governor and members of Congress, Florida residents will vote on whether to restore voting rights to people with prior felony convictions once they have finished their sentences, besides those convicted of the most serious crimes.

PROOF OF STREET ADDRESS 

There is no national identity card in the United States. Instead, each state defines what documents can be used as identification at the polling station.

And according to the American Civil Liberties Union, an influential civil rights organization, several states have imposed restrictive rules since 2010.

North Dakota has since 2016 required its residents to present a document with proof of a street address.

But the state is home to thousands of Native Americans who live on reservations in rural areas with but a single post office box.

They might be turned away at the ballot box, where Heidi Heitkamp -- a Democrat who was elected to the Senate in 2012 by just 3,000 votes -- is campaigning to keep her seat.

Backers of the rule hold it prevents fraud, as North Dakota does not require voters to pre-register.

'EXACT MATCH' RULES

In Georgia, the data voters provide when registering at the polls have since 2017 been compared to those given when applying for a driver's license or social security number.

If there are discrepancies, authorities might refuse the registration.

Some 53,000 applications are currently pending, 70 percent of which belong to African Americans, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Democrat Stacey Abrams -- who hopes to become the first black woman elected governor in the US -- has accused her Republican opponent, Brian Kemp, of using his position heading the office that oversees elections to influence the vote.

Kemp in turn says voters can cast ballots if they clarify their situations, and accuses Abrams of wanting to let undocumented immigrants vote.

Even if applications in limbo are ultimately approved, Abrams fears the challenge to register might cause these voters to stay home.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Long lines and high spirits as Southland voters head to polls

Voters across Southern California faced long lines and a few polling-place snafus Tuesday morning, but many said they did not mind putting up with a little inconvenience to cast their ballots.

In front of Shenandoah Elementary School in Mid-City the line of early morning voters stretched for nearly a city block. Josh and Amanda Levine were upholding family tradition by showing up with their two children, including daughter Alex, 2, who sported a red, white and blue, star-spangled cotton dress and waved a flag to boot.

"Our parents did this for us," said Josh Levine, who works at the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising firm. As Amanda, an attorney, held his spot in line with their 3-month-old son Jack's stroller, Josh carried Alex to the entrance of the school auditorium and explained that everyone in front of and behind them was waiting to vote.


"We want them to learn from a very young age how important it is to vote," Amanda said.

Ramute Gulbinas, a Lithuanian immigrant who became a citizen in the late 1990s, said she took time to study the book-like California voter guide in an effort to understand the sometimes confusing statewide propositions. She has voted in every election since she became a citizen.

"We didn't have that back there," she said of her homeland. "It's wonderful if our vote's going to count."

Her companion, Normand Labrecque, a manager for a liquor distribution firm, said he would vote for Mitt Romney for president.


"I think a lot of people are looking for change," he said.

In Hermosa Beach, business was brisk at a Kiwanis Club, where several precincts had been combined into a single polling place. At 9:15 a.m., every booth was full and poll workers were busy keeping the lines moving to color-coded tables, identifying the different precincts.

Poll worker Priscilla Atwell, who has worked elections for about 25 years, said she has never seen such a turnout in her town. At one point early in the morning, there was a 45-minute wait, she said.

"This is wild, this is great!" Atwell said.

Did you vote today? Tweet your election day photos to @lanow. Use the hashtag #LAVote. Tell us why/how you voted!

source: latimes.com

Romney takes fight to Obama in first debate

* Romney on the offensive from start of debate

* Obama says Romney tax plan doesn't add up

* Romney needed a breakthrough performance

DENVER - An aggressive Mitt Romney took the fight to President Barack Obama on Wednesday and the Republican candidate appeared to breathe new life into his struggling campaign with a solid performance at their first debate.

As polls showed Obama with a slight edge among voters, Romney was on the offensive throughout the 90-minute encounter between the two rivals at the University of Denver.

The two men, standing side-by-side for the first time after months of brutal campaign attacks hurled at each other, clashed over taxes, healthcare and the role of government, reflecting the deep ideological divide in Washington.

Appearing poised and well-prepared, Romney zeroed in on weak economic growth and 8.1 percent unemployment that has left Obama vulnerable in his effort to win a second four-year term.

"Now, I'm concerned that we're on the path that's just been unsuccessful. The president has a view very similar to the one he had when he ran for office four years go, that spending more, taxing more, regulating more, if you will, trickle-down government would work. That's not the right answer for America," Romney said.

The debate saw no haymaker punches thrown and not much in the way of one-line zingers. Instead, it was a war of attrition as each man used facts and figures to make his points and stress the differences between them.

Romney, however, may have done himself some favors with crisper answers than Obama, who sounded professorial and a bit long-winded despite his staff's best efforts to get him to give snappier comments.

The incumbent Democrat did put Romney on the defensive about his proposals for overhauling the U.S. tax system.

Obama said Romney was promoting the same kind of tax cut proposals that former President George W. Bush pushed through Congress in 2001 and 2003.

"We ended up moving from surpluses to deficits and it all culminated with the worst recession since the Great Depression," said Obama.

In the face of attacks from Romney that the Obama healthcare overhaul of 2010 will hurt small-business hiring, Obama basically said his healthcare plan was modeled after the program Romney put in place as governor of Massachusetts, and it "hasn't destroyed jobs" there.

Romney needs victory more

Romney was in need of a victory at the debate to help him put his campaign back on a positive footing after a rocky few weeks.

He was damaged by a hidden-camera videotape in which he said 47 percent of voters were dependent on government and unlikely to support him.

Obama, holding a slight edge in national polls and leading Romney in some swing states where the election will be decided, was looking in the debate to do avoid harming his position as the apparent front-runner.

The debate moderated by PBS anchor Jim Lehrer was the best opportunity to date to reach large numbers of voters in an unfiltered way, with an estimated television audience of 60 million possible.

Both men have been under pressure to provide more specific details on how to get America's economy surging again after a prolonged recovery from recession.

Obama charged that Romney's plan to reduce income taxes by 20 percent across the board and eliminate some tax deductions would leave middle-class Americans paying more taxes, an allegation that Romney vociferously denied.

"The fact is that if you are lowering the rates the way you described, Governor, then it is not possible to come up with enough deductions and loopholes that only affect high-income individuals to avoid either raising the deficit or burdening the middle class. It's - it's math. It's arithmetic," Obama said.

Replied Romney, "Virtually everything he said about my tax plan is inaccurate."

The debate was the first of three such face-offs scheduled in the next four weeks. Biden and Romney's running mate, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan, will debate once, on Oct. 11.

source: abs-cbnnews.com