Our members have spoken: by a margin of 85%, NIAC Action members have voted to endorse Joe Biden for President!
Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
We have never endorsed in a presidential election before, instead focusing our efforts on Congressional races and Iranian-American candidates. But this year, the stakes are too high and the differences at the top of the ballot are too stark for the largest grassroots Iranian-American organization not to pick a side.
Donald Trump has been an absolute nightmare for our community. He banned Iranians and separated our families in his first week in office, he has fanned the flames of racism against communities like ours, he has detained Iranian Americans and deported Iranians for no crime other than their heritage. He has put the U.S. and Iran on the brink of war and dramatically escalated the suffering of ordinary Iranians with cruel sanctions. And he is openly threatening our democracy here at home.
If we elect Joe Biden this November, we will have a partner who can and will reverse the mess of the Trump era. Biden has committed to end the Muslim Ban on day one of his presidency and to return to the Iran deal. These are ironclad commitments that we have worked hard to secure and can take to the bank. And, in endorsing Biden, we will help ensure that Iranian Americans and allies who support peace and diplomacy, equitable immigration, and civil rights will have a seat at the table in 2021.
Iranian Americans are more motivated than ever to build political power. This year, we have over a dozen Iranian Americans on the ballot in local, state and federal elections! This includes five credible candidates running to become the first Iranian American member of the U.S. Congress.
And while it may seem at times that our community is politically divided, the fact is that Iranian Americans are far less divided than the broader American electorate. 70% of Iranian Americans who voted in 2016 cast their ballot for Clinton. 75% of Iranian Americans oppose Donald Trump’s policies on Iran, and even more oppose his policies on immigraiton and civil rights. Our community agrees on far more than some would have you believe. But unfortunately, we also vote at a far lower rate than the national average.
We are going to change that.
Starting this week, NIAC Action is kicking off the largest ever Iranian American voter outreach and turnout operation. Our volunteers will phonebank and textbank every single Iranian-American voter in the country. We will be ensuring Iranian Americans are registered to vote, have access to vote by mail, and know where the candidates stand. And we will be raising the funding and turning out Iranian-American voters to elect our champions to office, from the White House to Congress to State legislatures and City Councils.
We all must work together over these next 11 weeks to defeat Donald Trump and elect our endorsees. If there is any lesson from the 2016 election, it is to not take anything for granted. So if you are ready to be a part of the largest Iranian American voter operation in history and for our community to shape our government through active participation in the democratic process, we are ready to do this with you. Let’s get to work!
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