August 1, 2022

Contact:

Michelle Boykins, Advancing Justice – AAJC, Mboykins@advancingjustice-aajc.org

Niketa Kumar, Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, media@advancingjustice-alc.org 

Liza Ameen, AJSOCAL, lameen@ajsocal.org

Kevin Hsia, Advancing Justice – Chicago, khsia@advancingjustice-chicago.org

James Woo, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, jwoo@advancingjustice-atlanta.org

Asian American Civil Rights Groups File Amicus Briefs in Support of Holistic Admissions in Higher Education

Washington, D.C. – Today, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice) filed two amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court in SFFA v. Harvard, affirming our longstanding support for race-conscious admissions in higher education. 

The five organizations comprising the Advancing Justice affiliation, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Lawyers For Civil Rights, and pro bono counsel Arnold & Porter filed an amicus brief on behalf of a multiracial group of alumni students of color at Harvard who support holistic admissions policies that take into account the entirety of a student’s assets and experiences. 

In their brief, the student and alumni amici attested to how a diverse campus benefits all students, including addressing racial isolation and increasing cross-racial understanding and cultural competency that better prepared them for their professional careers. Asian American amici also affirmed benefiting from race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard, which provided them the opportunity to share their whole story, including their race and ethnicity, background, and diverse experiences.

The Advancing Justice affiliation with pro bono counsel, Ballard Spahr, submitted a separate amicus brief joined by 37 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) civil rights groups, advocacy organizations, professionals, and student organizations in support of race-conscious admissions programs that improve equal access to educational opportunities for all.

The amicus brief affirms that Harvard and UNC’s race-conscious admissions programs do not discriminate against AAPI students, but rather expand their access to higher education. The brief also highlights the educational benefits of racial diversity for AAPI communities and asserts that eliminating the consideration of race in admissions programs will harm AAPI and other students of color.

“For centuries, communities of color, including Asian Americans, have struggled against racial discrimination and faced systemic barriers to education, employment, and immigration, among other challenges,” said John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Advancing Justice – AAJC. “Race, ethnicity, and our lived experiences are integral parts of our personal story and collective history. Holistic admissions ensures all students have the opportunity to share their whole story in addition to their academic achievements.”

“Our communities know better than to give into extremist strategist Edward Blum’s years-long mission to deny Black, Latinx, Asian American, and other communities of color equal voting rights and educational opportunities,” said Aarti Kohli, Executive Director of Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus. “As a parent, my children have had more chances to grow and thrive because of affirmative action, diversity, and anti-discrimination programs in our education systems. As a civil rights lawyer, there’s no question these attacks on the constitutionality of race conscious programs are a thinly veiled strategy to limit educational opportunities for all students of color.” 

“For too long, the model minority myth has propagated a false premise that AAPIs don’t benefit from race conscious admissions practices,” said Connie Chung Joe, CEO, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL). “The reality is that our communities also face discrimination and barriers to opportunities that race conscious admissions can address. And for AAPI students and other students of color, having a racially diverse student body is not only important to their educational experience, but often necessary to fully articulate the hurdles, achievements, and personal development experiences intrinsic to college admissions evaluations.”

Justice Roberto A. Rivera-Soto, former Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, former partner/now senior counsel at Ballard Spahr LLP, adds, “We are proud to work with Advancing Justice to support holistic admissions policies that have allowed countless numbers of students to attain great heights and contribute to bettering society for us all. We must continue to cultivate the potential of all students — including all who have struggled and continue to struggle against discrimination — to bring us closer to the promise of an equitable society we all deserve.”

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About Asian Americans Advancing Justice

Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice – AAJC (Washington, DC), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.

Ballard Spahr

Ballard Spahr is an Am Law 100 law firm with more than 600 lawyers in 15 U.S. offices, serving clients across industry sectors in litigation, transactions, and regulatory compliance. We provide clients—from startups to Fortune 500 companies, governments, and nonprofit organizations—with a comprehensive scope of practice and strong regional market knowledge. Ballard Spahr consistently ranks among the top 50 law firms in the annual Am Law Pro Bono Report and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors for outstanding commitment to pro bono representation.

For Immediate Release

Contacts:

Kevin Hsia, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago

224-289-5486, khsia@advancingjustice-chicago.org

Kimberly Leung, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago

415-234-0748, KLeung@advancingjustice-chicago.org

For Immediate Release 

CHICAGO, IL — June 28, 2022 – Illinois voters went to the polls today to pick their party’s nominees for federal, state, and local offices for the Nov. 8 general election. Advancing Justice | Chicago’s team of staff and volunteer poll watchers, in total, visited 119 Chicago precincts and 58 Suburban Cook County precincts between 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.  

The goal of our poll monitoring program is to ensure that all eligible voters can cast their ballots without interference, with a particular focus on historically-disenfranchised communities like Asian Americans and immigrants. Our poll watchers monitor for compliance with language access and other requirements.   

Thanks to our poll watchers we were able to ensure timely resolution for certain issues. For example, at a precinct in Uptown, where Hindi election materials are required, our poll watcher reported no translated signage outside the polling place in the morning. The Chicago Board of Elections responded by placing the appropriate signage by the afternoon. In another instance, our poll watcher stationed at a precinct in Des Plaines discovered that the location did not have any paper ballots in Korean, even though Korean election materials are required under local ordinance. As a result of the poll watcher’s report, the Cook County Clerk’s Office was directed to have those ballots delivered. 

Other more complicated issues, however, do not lend themselves to expedient solutions. In both Chicago and Suburban Cook County, our poll watchers observed serious staffing shortages. Overall, this election cycle saw a common theme of too few bilingual election judges for Section 203 and Cook County VOTE Ordinance-required languages. While most polling places should ideally have five poll workers, many poll watchers today saw only three or four, with one person or no one proficient in the designated Section 203 language. For future election cycles, more recruitment is needed to address staffing shortages.  

In one notable report, one of Advancing Justice | Chicago’s volunteer poll watcher provided interpretation for a voter because the polling place did not have a Cantonese-speaking election judge present. The voter was almost turned away due to confusion during the registration process, in addition to connectivity issues with the Chicago Board of Election’s language hotline. Poll watchers promote transparency and language equity at polling places – sometimes with only their presence alone.  

In the coming months, Advancing Justice | Chicago will publish a report that provides a summary of the issues our poll watchers encountered on Election Day, as well as recommendations for the Chicago and Cook County election authorities. Poll watchers play a vital role in ensuring fair elections. Thank you to our staff and volunteer poll watchers, and our sponsors, the Asian American Bar Association, Chinese American Bar Association, Filipino American Lawyers Association, Korean American Bar Association, and South Asian American Bar Association of Chicago.

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. Learn more at www.advancingjustice-chicago.org.

For Immediate Release

Contacts:

Kevin Hsia, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago

224-289-5486, khsia@advancingjustice-chicago.org

Kimberly Leung, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago

415-234-0748, KLeung@advancingjustice-chicago.org

CHICAGO, IL — June 27, 2022 – The Illinois Primary Election is tomorrow, Tuesday, June 28. The ballot includes races for governor, congressional seats, state legislative offices, and a variety of local positions. Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago continues its long-running poll watching program. Our poll watchers will be stationed at various polling places across Cook County to monitor for compliance with language access and other requirements. The goal of our poll monitoring program is to ensure that all eligible voters can cast their ballots without interference, with a particular focus on historically-disenfranchised communities like Asian Americans and immigrants. 

Asian Americans are the fastest growing demographic in the city and state. Seventy-seven percent of Asian Americans in Illinois speak a language other than English at home, and of those, more than 38% speak English less than “very well.” Lack of language access is a serious barrier to voting for Asian American communities. On the importance of language access in this month’s elections: “If we’re talking about access to power, the most fundamental right here is the right to vote,” said Kimberly Leung, the voting rights legal fellow at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago.   

Recognizing that citizens with limited English proficiency have been effectively excluded from participating in the electoral process, Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act (“Section 203”) requires certain jurisdictions—including Cook County–to provide translated election materials and in-language assistance.  

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago’s poll watching program focuses on precincts in Chicago and Suburban Cook County that are covered by Section 203, and therefore are required to have election materials in Chinese, Hindi, or Spanish. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners have also identified certain precincts where there will be election materials in Korean and Tagalog. Our poll watching program also focuses on those precincts.  

Our poll watching program is also monitoring for compliance with the Cook County Voting Opportunity and Translation Equity (VOTE) Ordinance. The VOTE Ordinance, which was passed in October 2019, extends Section 203 protections in suburban Cook County to eight additional languages: Korean, Tagalog, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Gujarati and Urdu.  

This Primary, our staff and volunteers will, in total, cover 114 Chicago precincts and 58 precincts in Suburban Cook County.  

When: Tuesday, June 28, 2022  

Where: Chicago and Suburban Cook County  

What: Advancing Justice | Chicago staff and volunteer poll watchers will be stationed at polling places across Chicago and Suburban Cook County to monitor for compliance with language access and other requirements.  In total, our staff and volunteers will cover 114 polling places in Chicago and 58 polling places in Suburban Cook County.  During visits, poll watchers will check for language and disability access and ensure voter harassment and disenfranchisement do not occur.  

Additional info:  

If you have any questions about voting, you can call the Election Protection Hotline. Call 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683) for assistance in Bengali, Cantonese, English, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, Urdu and Vietnamese. Call 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682) for assistance in Spanish. For assistance in English, call 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683). 

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. Learn more at www.advancingjustice-chicago.org.