ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Floridians created and launched a plan to increase engagement and overcome voter apathy in the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

Onchantho Am is helping lead Asian American Pacific Islanders Coming Together (ACT). It’s a non-partisan grassroots effort to engage, educate, and empower AAPI voters. Step one is conducting surveys to gauge what issues are important to the community.

"What are your thoughts on the concerns in this area and what do you want to see addressed? Those are some examples of the questions,” Am explains.

They'll be putting QR codes in local businesses for people to scan and respond to the survey about what issues are important. To reach more people, Am is leading voter outreach and education efforts in Orlando's Mills 50 District. 

"You got a collection of different cultures coming together and this is also what we call the hub as far as intersection of different businesses. The reason why we are here is because this is where we see a lot of frequent community members coming and joining," she says.

The work goes beyond those streets. Am is taking steps to get more business partners to join and more voters to be engaged.

She said, "I always joke that I’m a lawyer by training, but I’m an advocate at heart." 

She has the goal of increasing the AAPI voter participation rate by 20% and bridging the voter engagement gap with action so diverse voices will be heard and represented this election season. Candidate forums and voter registration drives are also part of the ACT plan.