Tag: New York City immigrant voters

Census Drives Hope in New York’s Chinese Immigrant Neighborhoods

Recent victories by Chinese candidates are helping the census drive this year, but New York’s Chinese community has already seen how the census count has helped to shape its political power in bitter and joyful ways.

In New York City, Immigrants Swell the Ranks of First-Time Voters

By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor

Over forty percent of first-time New York City voters in this presidential election were foreign born, according to a study released by the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC).

“Immigrants continue to swell the ranks of first-time voters in New York City and remain a driving force in the growth of the city’s electorate,” wrote the authors of the 2008 New Americans Exit Poll, professors Lorraine C. Minnite of Barnard College and John Mollenkopf, the director of the Graduate Center for Urban Studies at the City University of New York.

Immigrants were 41.1 percent of those voting for the first time. This continued a trend from the three previous presidential elections, when at least three in ten of immigrant voters were voting for the first time, according to the study.

Among foreign-born voters, a large proportion became citizens only recently. Nearly 18 percent achieved citizenship during the last two years, and an additional 25 percent had done so between 2000 and 2005.

(more…)

What Motivates Immigrant Voters?: A Radio Interview With FI2W's Aswini Anburajan

Speaking today on PRI’s The World Aswini Anburajan talks about the reasons so many first-time immigrant voters showed up at the polls today in New York City.

Press play to listen to her conversation with The World host Lisa Mullins or click here to visit the show’s page.

[audio:http://64.71.145.108/audio/1104086.mp3]