It's this young woman, Rim Abera (via Goldy at HorsesAss:
Rim Abera is a 20 year-old college student in Seattle, Washington. Her family is originally from Eritrea and came to the United States from the Sudan when she was a baby, achieving citizenship nine years later. In high school Rim became very active in politics and voter outreach and is excited to be voting for the second time on November 2 – after having convinced the rest of her family to also register in 2008.
Rim is part of OneAmerica Votes, the organization smeared by the AP who told the organization's story under the headline "In Washington, illegal immigrants canvassing for Democrats." The real story behind OneAmerica Votes is about just that--one America. After that story ran, Goldy interviewed Pramila Jayapal, the director of the program.
“The exciting story here,” (and one, by the way, that starkly contradicts the prevailing national narrative), “is that even people who cant vote are energized about this election, because they understand that it’s their future that is at stake.” Indeed, many of OneAmerica Votes’ volunteers can’t vote, not because they are undocumented, or even non-citizens, but because they are simply underage.
“We have an amazing group of high schoolers who are canvassing with us,” Jayapal told me, “who say to me ‘Wow... I just woke up to politics.’ That’s very exciting to watch.”
As are the results. Over the course of this election over 162,000 immigrant voters throughout the state have been contacted by OneAmerica Votes, including over 41,000 homes canvassed by phone and/or at the door by volunteers. That’s a huge chunk of the 230,000 registered immigrant voters who make up over 7.5% of the Washington state electorate.
And far from this being the Democratic GOTV effort the AP headline implies, much of OneAmerica Votes’ efforts have focused largely on the many initiatives cluttering the November ballot, with the organization translating voter guides into six languages, and inviting proponents and opponents alike to initiative forums in neighborhoods with large immigrant communities. That’s a unique, grassroots voter education effort that should be celebrated, not vilified.
This is all about new Americans becoming a part of their new home. To that end, Rim Abera and the other volunteers working to educate and engage immigrant voters, are the future. And that's what has the GOP, and the teabaggers, so scared.