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Crosscurrents

Elections 2012: the South Asian vote

We continue the joint series with our friends at New America Media discussing the issues that various Bay Area ethnic communities care about this election year, and where they stand on local issues. Every Tuesday until election day, we’ll be speaking with representatives from local ethnic media to hear about what’s important to their audiences.

The South Bay has one of the largest South Asian populations in the country. Some of them have gone on to high public office, like Attorney General Kamala Harris who was San Francisco’s District Attorney. Her mom is Indian. San Francisco Republican Party chair HarmeetDhillon is Sikh American.

A number of recent surveys revealed South Asian voting trends. To explore what South Asians are following this election season we speak with Richard Springer, long-time staff reporter for India West, the weekly national paper serving the South Asian community. Some glimpses:

RICHARD SPRINGER: A survey from last week found across the board that all Asian groups are concerned with the economy and education. From today's survey, the independent vote is very strong in California in the Asian community, and they do support affirmative action which goes against some groups that have been saying Asian groups don't support affirmative action.

Click the player above to hear the complete interview.

 

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Crosscurrents Elections
Hana Baba is host of Crosscurrents, KALW's weeknight newsmagazine that broadcasts on KALW Public Radio in the San Francisco Bay Area.