Sacramento State will host a Voters Education Forum on Saturday, Oct. 7, presented by APAPA, the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association. The event brings together leaders, elected officials, students and community members in an effort to educate and empower Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The 16^th annual APAPA Voters Education and Candidates Forum is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. in the University Union Ballroom on the Sacramento State campus.  Panelists include Congressman Ted Lieu, D-Los Angeles County; California state Controller Betty Yee; Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland; California state Treasurer John Chiang; Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg; and many other influential officials.

“This event provides a unique opportunity to meet various candidates for electoral office, hear what they have to say specifically on the needs of API communities, and to give comments about concerns that should be addressed,” says Timothy Fong, director of the Full Circle Project, a campuswide effort to improve retention and graduation rates of under-represented Asian American and Pacific Islander students.

“Being an educated voter and actively engaged in the democratic process is a special right that should not be underestimated or taken for granted.”

Nearly 21 percent of Sac State students are Asian American/Pacific Islander and the University became an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) in 2010. Sacramento State is a Minority-Serving Institution as designated by the Department of Education and became a Hispanic-Serving Institution in 2015.

APAPA was founded by immigrant and entrepreneur C.C. Yin to provide a platform and pipeline to teach Asian Americans how to vote and to educate them about for whom to vote and why.

To register for the APAPA Voters Education Forum, visit www.2017votersforum.splashthat.com or call 916-928-9988. - Anita Fitzhugh