ASIAN AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS AND REPRESENTATION: A PERSPECTIVE FROM THE NORTHEAST

This article presents a strategy for advancing Asian American voting rights and for ensuring that Asian Americans have a full and fair opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice, as guaranteed by the Voting Rights Act, through an exploration of legal issues in the census, redistricting, and alternative voting systems. First, it discusses the importance of an accurate count of Asian Americans in the decennial census. Second, it explores legal strategies to achieve meaningful representation of Asian Americans through the redrawing of federal, state, and local voting district boundaries. Third, it reviews the merits and limitations of alternative voting systems.

This article illustrates the challenges and solutions in Asian American voting rights using examples in the Northeast. The overarching goal of this article is to provide a strategy to encourage more inclusive, and thus responsive, government, and to promote fairness and democracy in the electoral process.