By Ed Diokno
I couldn’t believe my eyes! During the last night of the Democratic National Convention, there were more people Googling “register to vote” than “Kim Kardashian.”
By the time that Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton finished her speech, “register to vote’ was almost double the searches for Kim.
Perhaps that’s a sign of change in our fickle country – at least those who Google. Just as I start to question the integrity of the American electorate, they go and do something like this. There’s “hope!”
As soon as Khizr Khan, whose son died a war hero in Iraq, finished speaking, “register to vote” spiked. His emotional speech offering his copy of the U.S. Constitution to Donald Trump and pointing out that the billionaire has “sacrificed nothing. No one!” was one of the highlights of an evening full of highlights.
Wednesday night (July 27), as President Obama finished his rousing endorsement of Hillary Clinton, “register to vote” spiked 190 percent, which it hadn’t reached since the primaries.
Asian Americans would be wise to add their names to the voter registry.
According to APIA Vote, in the last three presidential elections, more than 620,000 Asian Americans have entered the electorate.
Today Asian Americans make up more than 5% of the voters one in four congressional districts. With national polls showing the presidential election tight, AAPI voters could make the difference in an election.
The population of Asian Americans has increased 46% between 2000 and 2010 and 40% among Pacific Islanders. So as you can see, AAPIs are poised to be a growing force in the electorate. But you can’t have a voice if you don’t register to vote. Take it from Uncle George.
One more Google metric, (and I’m sure Clinton’s people and speechwriter will take note of this) when the candidate started talking about her family and the early part of her career, searches for “Hillary Clinton” rose, but dropped when she began bashing Donald Trump. It appears the “positive” parts of her speech provoked more interest than the negative.
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