The First Time My Mom Voted

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The First Time My Mom Voted

September 2, 2020
Phi Nguyen, PIVOT board member

Almost 40 years after she came to America, my mom voted for the first time in 2016. Leading up to the election, I helped her register to vote and request an absentee ballot. She lost her absentee ballot so tried to vote in person on Election Day instead.

At the polls, my mom was told she would need to first go to the county board of elections to sign an affidavit canceling her absentee ballot and then return to her precinct to vote. As a first-time voter and person with limited English proficiency, my mom was ready to sit the election out rather than try to navigate this confusing process.

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The Best Way to Celebrate Independence Day

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The Best Way to Celebrate Independence Day

July 1, 2020
Hieu Le, PIVOT Board Member

The United States of America for decades has been a country of refuge for Vietnamese immigrants and refugees, offering levels of freedom and opportunities that were not possible elsewhere. Millions of Vietnamese people gave up everything they knew, uprooting and risking their entire lives to traverse to an unknown country. They did so because they knew that the United States represented freedom and opportunity.

This country has allowed many Vietnamese Americans to achieve the American dream, such as attaining quality education, providing better opportunities for their children, and having the ability to live in a democratic country where they can vote and exercise their civic duty.

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