A lot of Asian Americans are traveling far from home to do everything they can in this crucial election. My friend Brian Kim, a Bay Area lawyer, traveled to Reno, Nevada last week to be a Democratic poll watcher at an early voting station. He wrote a great note about his experience, which I’m reproducing here with his permission.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, I went to Washoe County, Nevada to do poll protection work for the Democratic Party. I decided to do it because I was driving myself crazy watching and thinking about the campaign 24-7 like everyone else I know. I really admired my friends (you know who you are) who have poured all of themselves into the Obama campaign, which because of work and family obligations I haven’t been able to do. I also wanted to do something for a targeted period of time where my training as a lawyer would have some value. Luckily, my boss had done poll protection in 2004 and he supported my decision to take days off for poll protection 100%. 

I had a great time despite some long hours and tedium, and the experience made me think about voting in a way that I never had previously when I just cast my own ballot. It also made me appreciate those of you who are campaigning your hearts out and getting out the vote for Obama that much more. 

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We came for “Golden Week,” a 7-day window in which Ohio residents could register and early vote at the same time, to bank thousands of votes for Obama well in advance of E-Day.  On October 6, as Ohio’s registration window closed, we transported the last of 3,300 voters we rallied around the state… and finally slept.

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Sin Yen Ling is a civil rights attorney in San Francisco. Below is her account of voluteering in Nevada this past weekend.

Over the weekend, 20 of us drove out to Nevada and we all came back energized and enlightened with the incredible experiences over the two-day period. Half of us signed up for election protection and the other half did GOTV work in Fernley County — 1.5 hours outside of Reno.

I signed up for election protection and was assigned to Shopper’s Square. Nevada opened up its early voting on Saturday and the turnout was incredible the first day — each site had 300 plus people show up totally engaged and with lots to say. Nov. 4 will have massive turnout in Nevada because of the number of undecided voters.

I went in with expectations of wondering why people were still undecided. What in the last eight years could make someone undecided about either voting or about choosing a candidate was beyond me. But I was wrong, so wrong to even contemplate that. The common reason behind people’s indecision had to do with their distrust for government.

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It’s way too easy as a California voter to think we can just sit back and watch Obama and McCain duke it out in the battleground states while resting easy in the knowledge that California’s 55 electoral votes are solidly in Obama’s column.

But wait. Did you hear that? That’s the sigh of relief that the McCain campaign is breathing knowing that you are one less volunteer trying to win the presidency for Barack Obama. Campaigns are not just won with ad buys, debates and media coverage. They are won through grassroots efforts - people volunteering their time to make phone calls and knock on doors and talk to their friends and family. Some of these battleground states will be won or lost with a few hundred votes. Whether you’ve got a free weekend to drive down to Nevada or a couple of hours in the afternoon to make phone calls or do data entry, your efforts could be crucial in securing a win for Obama next month.

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Hey Cali Asian Americans for Obama!
After last week’s convention and the … um, interesting things said during the RNC convention this week, I know there are lots of you ready to go out there and do something! Here’s your chance!!!

September 6 and 7: Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (www.filamarts.org)
San Pedro, CA
This Saturday and Sunday, Filipinos for Obama is sponsoring and sharing a table at FPAC (www.filamarts.org) with Mark Pulido (http://www.markpulido.com/). Email oiyan.poon@gmail.com if you’re able to come out and help register voters and get the word out for Obama, or just come out to FPAC and join in the fun.

September 12-14: Road trip to Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada
Asian Pacific Americans for Progress, Chinese Americans for Obama, South Asians for Obama, Filipinos for Obama, and Asian Americans for Obama are teaming up to organize a road trip to Nevada on the weekend of Sept. 12-14th. Volunteers in Northern California will be heading to Reno, while volunteers in Southern California will be targeting Las Vegas. Please let us know if you’d like to join us.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA - please contact Anhoni Patel at anhoni@yahoo.com or Diana Olin at garnetorchid@gmail.com

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - please contact Oiyan Poon at oiyan.poon@gmail.com

To RSVP to the Vegas Roadtrip, please go to our Evite.
http://tinyurl.com/5g35s5

A limited number of free housing will be available in Las Vegas. Please rsvp about Vegas by Monday, 9/8.