Multi-lingual outreach key to getting out the vote

{mosads}With such an ethnically diverse district comes a diversity
of languages, and I am incredibly proud of the multi-lingual outreach my
campaign has done.  By Election Day, we
will have connected with thousands of voters, with voter-to-voter contact in
over a dozen languages, including English, Arabic, Cantonese, Dari, Dutch,
Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Hindi, Pashto, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog,
Telugu, Thai, Urdu and Vietnamese.

Using the home languages of voters to communicate with them
demonstrates an understanding of their communities’ distinctness and provides
voters with greater comfort in expressing their concerns and beliefs. We can’t
treat the Asian-American/Pacific Islander population, or any other community,
like a monolithic group; there is a great deal of linguistic, ethnic, and
religious diversity represented in a multitude of sub-groups.

All linguistic minorities deserve to be approached and heard
in their home languages whenever possible, because the conversation that
results is fuller and richer, and you tend to hear things that otherwise might
not be said in English. My campaign has capitalized on the multilingualism of
our outstanding volunteers. Their talents allow us to engage individual voters
in a way both the volunteers and voters appreciate.

The languages are as diverse as the people who speak them,
and to effectively represent the district as a whole, it is important to
understand and respect these distinctions. The great commonality among them, however, is the pride they take in
being an American and participating in our electorate system. With this in
mind, we strive to hear all voices, as that is the nature and beauty of our
democracy.

As America is becoming more diverse, Americans are
increasingly relying on more diverse communication. According to a report by
the Center for American Progress, nearly 30 million ethnic adults say they’re
“primary consumers” of ethnic media. 

This is clearly the future of campaigning as well, with
outreach to every voter, in their language, their culture and their
context. In the next presidential race,
then, I expect to see a multiplicity of languages employed. This is the new
America and we must be ready to see it, hear it, and speak it.

Honda is vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee.