AAPI Organizers Turn Out the Vote in Georgia
Between November 7, 2020 and January 5, 2021, women of color and Asian American and Pacific Islander organizers helped Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock flip the Senate by winning both runoff elections in Georgia. This rare opportunity to unseat both incumbents has national implications because it gives a chance to enact the policies of the new Biden administration.
This is no easy feat, because the special runoff election, which was triggered when no candidate gained above 50% of votes in the November general election, was designed to prevent candidates backed by Black and minority voters from winning. Historically, it has worked as intended by placing hurdles for voters, oftentimes minority and low-income individuals who have limited capacity to reach polls in the first place, requiring them to show up to the polls once again for an election they had already voted in. This is in addition to voter suppression through poll closures and voter roll purges.