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Civic Engagement


Woori Center leads year-round civic engagement efforts to empower Korean and Asian Americans across the state of Pennsylvania. Woori Center has joined local and statewide coalitions and carries out its civic engagement activities as a coordinated effort within the broader context of AAPI communities and communities of color in Pennsylvania.

 2024 General Election

Date: Tuesday, November 5

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In this election, registered voters in Pennsylvania will elect:

  • U.S. President & Vice President

  • U.S. Senate

  • U.S. House 

  • PA State Senate

  • PA State House

  • PA state executive offices (Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer)

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Register to vote before October 21. Please visit woori.pavoteforchange.com to register

 

Check your registration status at: https://vote.pa.gov/status

 

Apply for mail-in ballots: Vote.pa.gov/ApplyMailBallot

 

Paper application form available


 

To be eligible to register to vote, you must be:

  • A U.S. Citizen for at least 30 days prior to an election

  • 18 years of age by the day of the election

  • Residing in your voting district for at least 30 days prior to an election

 

You need to re-register to vote:

  • When your address has changed 

  • When your name has changed 

  • When changing your party affiliation 

 

Important dates: 

October 21: Last day to register to vote before the primary election

October 29: Last day to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot (by 5PM)

November 5: Election Day (7AM-8PM)

Completed mail-in and absentee ballots must be received by your county election office by 8PM. (Postmarks are not enough)

 

Find your polling location:   

www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/Pages/PollingPlaceInfo.aspx


 

For more information in Nepali(नेपाली), Indonesian(bahasa indonesia), call:

SEAMAAC, (215) 467-0690

 

打电话咨询更多信息: 

Asian Americans United (AAU),

(215) 925-1538

 

Và Gọi để biết thông tin: 

VietLead, (267) 457-2851 

 

مزيد من المعلومات باللغة العربية

مزید معلومات کے لیے اردو میں

বাংলায় আরও তথ্যের জন্য : 

CAIR-Philadelphia, (267) 515-6710

 

Election Protection Hotlines:

866-OUR-VOTE  (1-866-687-8683)

888-API-VOTE (1-888-274-8683)

2023 Civic Engagement

Civic engagement is a critical component of Woori Center’s work, as it is key to building Korean and Asian American community power in Greater Philadelphia and the United States. This year, Woori Center is focused on culturally competent outreach to our community for the Pennsylvania Primary Election on May 16, 2023 and the General Election on November 7, 2023. We want our people to be among the many Pennsylvania voters who will decide the outcomes of the seats for the PA State Senate, PA State House, PA State Supreme Court, Intermediate Appellate Courts, school boards, and municipal governments.

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Below are some of our notable achievements from 2023:

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  • We made  40,592 call attempts and sent out 32,778 text messages across Pennsylvania. 

  • We knocked on 625 doors in Philadelphia

  • We distributed 800 copies of the election guide composed by Woori Center and gave out 2,000+ copies of election brochures.

  • We registered 205 eligible voters

  • We provided language assistance via calls throughout the year and in person at 6 polling sites on election days

  • We conducted the Montgomery County Commissioner Candidates Survey on language access and shared the results with our community.

This internship enabled me to appreciate the power of grassroots efforts. I feel that society as a whole focuses on large-scale impact, but Woori has taught me to celebrate and strive for individual level because they can make the process even more rewarding.  


It (Woori Center) makes personal-level connections with people. There is nothing more interpersonal than being on the streets or going from door to door getting people to have their voices heard. By doing this, Woori is able to humanize a process that often feels overwhelming. 

 

I am extremely grateful for the incredible team behind Woori. I am really glad to have made the friends I did and it made my position such an honor to hold. Something about being able to do what I love with people I love was so great.

 

 
— Avia , Civic Engagement Intern

Montgomery County is now home to Pennsylvania's largest Korean American community and the second-largest Asian American community. Over 70% of Korean Americans are recent immigrants, and roughly half speak English “less than well.” In Pennsylvania, 78% of Asians and Pacific Islanders speak languages other than English at home, and roughly 1 in 5 Asian Pacific Islanders speak English less than well or not at all.
 
A coalition of 16 organizations representing and supporting the vast new American communities in Montgomery County asked the four candidates running for the 2023 Montgomery County Commissioner election about their position on language access in the county. We are delighted to share all candidates’ responses in alphabetical order. Please click the image to see their responses.

2023 Montgomery County Commissioner
Candidates on Language Access

2022 Civic Engagement

In 2022, PA voters decided the outcomes of the seats for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, PA Governor, PA State Senator, and PA State House. Woori Center, our volunteers, and KACP, led multiple rounds of phonebanking and text banking, mailed and hand-distributed election guides, and helped voters register to vote and develop mail-in or in-person voting plans.

 

Over the summer, Woori Center conducted a survey asking Korean American and young Asian American voters in Pennsylvania about their support for our Driver’s Licenses for All campaign and Transformative Justice. 79% of respondents supported Driver’s Licenses for All and 73% of respondents supported transformative justice as a remedy to the current punitive criminal justice system.

 

Below are some of our notable achievements from 2022:

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  • We made 48,037 phone calls and texted 31,546 messages to Korean and young Asian American voters in Pennsylvania. 

  • We registered 248 eligible voters.

  • We organized four tabling sites in North Philadelphia and Montgomery County at markets like H Mart in Elkins Park and Assi Plaza in North Wales, as well as at community events like North Penn High School’s Spring International Fest and Kimchi Fest in Love Park. 

  • We knocked on 1,026 doors of Korean and Asian American voters in Montgomery County. 

  • We distributed 1,500 election brochures and 1,300 voter guides in Korean and in English.

  • We sent out 28,845 bilingual mailers statewide.