Immigrant group launches women-oriented get-out-the-vote campaign
|
Version 0 of 1. Leaders of the immigrant rights group CASA Virginia on Tuesday launched a women-oriented get-out-the-vote effort that focused on the need for attention to issues that disproportionately affect women. “We believer working women deserve a fighting chance, and it’s time we raise the minimum wage and improve child care,” said Rima Matsumoto, chair of CASA Maryland, which serves as an umbrella organization for the region. About 20 people, including several men, staged the press conference at the Arlington Courthouse plaza to urge registration on the last day that Virginia voters can register to vote in the Nov. 3 election. Since CASA is registered as a nonpartisan nonprofit group, they do not endorse candidates, but their interests are those normally raised by Democrats — expanding health-care coverage, guaranteeing the right to unionize, supporting reproductive rights, improving housing and schools and raising the minimum wage. “No matter who is elected, we demand they become pro-immigrant,” said Kim Propeack, chair of the campaign. The women who spoke at the event, most of them bilingual, called on “everyday women who work to support their families” to urge others to talk about the issues, using their influence to get more women to the polls. They also plan a social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter. Arlington County Board chairman Mary Hynes, assisted by vice chairman J. Walter Tejada who translated, issued a proclamation calling on residents to support the campaign. |