New Billboard Urges Asian Immigrants to Vote

September 24th, 2012

If you’re heading north on I-85, you may notice a new billboard as you enter Gwinnett County.

But you might not be able to read it.

That’s because the billboard has a very specific target audience and message.

In seven different Asian languages — including Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai — the new billboard says “vote.” The Asian American Legal Advisory Center (AALAC) is sponsoring the sign. It’s trying to increase voter turnout in the Asian immigrant population.

According to AALAC Executive Director Helen Ho, “Most first generation immigrants say, well you know, I came here for my children and their future. They will be leaders in America; they will be full Americans, and they will vote,” said Ho. “And what we’re trying to get everyone to understand is that, just like in every other thing, children model the behavior of their parents. The parents need to model civic leadership for their children and vote.”

That’s why the billboard features children’s faces. Ho says placing the sign in Gwinnett County was another obvious choice.

“Gwinnett County is, beyond our city and our state, in terms of our region, it really is the flashpoint of immigrant growth. So we knew that we had to put the billboard there,” said Ho.

The billboard, between Beaver Ruin Road and Steve Reynolds Boulevard, will face northbound traffic for two weeks and southbound for two weeks after that.