The New Deciders

This is the new America: black, brown, Asian, youth, immigrants.

The face of the U.S. has changed.

I just see it destroying what we had planned to happen here.

HINOJOSA: By 2044, we will be a majority non-white nation.

No Islamophobia in our country.

HINOJOSA: How will this impact the 2016 election?

We are the quintessential swing voters.

We're gonna rock the vote Latino evangelical style.

JULIA SHEARSON: This is probably the most important election facing the American people maybe in our history.

Still the racial card is on in politics.

IRVING ALLEN: Democrats and Republicans have done vast amounts of harm to black communities.

Behind every number, there's a story.

America by the Numbers.

I'm Maria Hinojosa.

This program is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

And by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

HINOJOSA: The 2016 electorate is the most diverse in U.S. history.

WOMAN: I want you to do it.

You're a part of this experience.

HINOJOSA: This Election Day, nearly one in three eligible voters will be non-white.

And for the first time, millennials 18 to 35 have become the largest generation in our country.

En ingles, o en espaĂąol?

HINOJOSA: In North Carolina, we meet black millennials from across the political spectrum engaged in community organizing.

Arab Americans in Cleveland, Ohio, get active to fight Islamophobia through the ballot.

In Orlando, Florida, a Latino husband-and-wife team redefine the political power of Christian evangelicals.

And Asian-American candidates compete for the Asian vote in Orange County, California.

Will these communities be "The New Deciders"?

HINOJOSA: Over 20,000 attendees at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia started chanting, "Black Lives Matter" as the mothers of children lost to police and gun violence came onstage to galvanize support for Hillary Clinton.

So many of our children are gone, but they are not forgotten.

HINOJOSA: Outside the convention hall, many others were also chanting, to protest police killings of unarmed African Americans, as well as a justice system they say is not just.

Shut it down!

We need a radical new system, because the one we have is broken, and it's not working for any of us here in America.

HINOJOSA: Demonstrations following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, as well as the ambush of police in Dallas and Baton Rouge, have pushed Black Lives Matter to the forefront of this year's election.

Some of that attention has been negative.

Black Lives Matter was just exactly who they are then as who they are today-- they're a terrorist group.

HINOJOSA: Others say their impact is positive.

It is thanks in large part to the activism of young people like many of you, from Black Twitter to Black Lives Matter, that America's eyes have been opened.

HINOJOSA: In North Carolina, African Americans had the highest turnout among youth in the last two elections.

We've come to Greensboro, home of one of the first sit-ins in the Civil Rights Movement, to find out, how will black millennials exercise their political power this year?

HOLDEN CESSION: For me to be alive at this moment in time, in the South as a black trans person, I think, is a very, very powerful thing.

HINOJOSA: Holden Cession is a 26-year-old trans activist.

I got involved in Black Lives Matter in 2014.

It was right after Mike Brown was murdered.

I think that moment was really kind of the catalyst for... for starting Black Lives Matter here locally.

HINOJOSA: Holden and his friends Irving Allen and April Parker are three of the founding members of Black Lives Matter in Greensboro.

It's not only black men being killed.

HINOJOSA: Today, they are meeting for the first time since the wave of violence that occurred over the summer.

CESSION: We don't even talk about the fact that the two brothers who killed the officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge were both, like, former military people, right?

So our government doesn't take care of veterans, right?

It doesn't take care of our mental health.

PARKER: Poverty is violent.

Not having access to healthcare is violent.

Then we just started seeing people gunned down by the police.

OMARI HUNT: Every meeting I go to, it's like, everybody's talking about what's wrong, but nobody's giving solutions.

I'm really, really, really scared, and looking for a solution, like, "Okay, if these people pull me over, what should I do?"

When does Black Lives Matter come into your life?

I think it permeates, like, every aspect of my life.

I think, like, the... the hashtag, the slogan, the movement, are affirmation of what this time needs right now.

It's a need for folks to do something.

HINOJOSA: Black Lives Matter has been galvanized by charges of police use of excessive force.

But for Holden, Irving, and April, the movement is also a way to inspire more involvement in local politics.

CESSION: A lot of my work is trying to figure out how to integrate social justice into the community here in Greensboro.

We've been doing work definitely around HB2 and with the bill around LGBTQ equity, around trans liberation.

(crowd chanting) HINOJOSA: Holden and other activists are fighting North Carolina's House Bill Two, the Bathroom Bill, which bars transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice.

HB2 is the most sweeping anti-LGBT bill in the nation.

If not HB2, what do we want?

We want protections for workers, we want protections from police who are locking up and killing our people.

CESSION: We're trying to find ways to really connect the dots around all of these issues.

We're saying education is connected to food access, which is connected to the school-to-prison pipeline.

Really trying to figure out how all these issues are really interlocking with one another.

Tuesday, like, there is going to be some form of civil disobedience.

And we are going to engage with that, right?

And we're going to take up space, and we're going to take up time.

Because this whole thing is built off of our backs, right?

Our people built this (bleep) up, right?

And they have yet to represent us.

What is the role of protest versus organizing?

I think that protest comes innately from suppression and from, like, folks not being heard.

Black Lives Matter, in this election cycle, inserted protest in politics, and I think that it's been very effective in changing narratives of the way that people talk about the black community.

HINOJOSA: Across the country, African Americans turned out in record numbers in the last two presidential elections.

In 2012, they outperformed white voters for the first time in history, especially in North Carolina.

But not all black millennials here have joined forces with Black Lives Matter.

So when you see those Black Lives Matter activists, what's going on for you?

Well, I might not agree with what they're doing.

I might not fight for the same issues or the same concerns as they do, but at least they're getting involved, at least they're getting out there.

HINOJOSA: Markeece Young is a 20-year old Republican and one of the youngest delegates to the North Carolina GOP convention this year.

MARK MEADOWS: I believe that we are unified that Hillary Clinton would look better in prison orange than Democratic blue.

What about you?

(cheers and applause) PAT McCRORY: And, oh, yeah, there was no confusion about restrooms in North Carolina.

So the first person who made you really get into politics was Barack Obama?

Yes.

In 2008 when I was questioning Obama, I was called ridiculous names from students-- sellout, and they were calling me, you know, Oreo and white boy and stuff like that.

But in 2012, I finally said, "You know what?

I think I'm a Republican."

Hey.

Yeah, it's been a while.

I think the last convention, actually.

No kidding-- how's it going?

Good, how are you doing?

HINOJOSA: Markeece has a blog, Young Black Republican, with over 37,000 followers.

His hashtag, #WhyImNotVotingForHillary, got national attention after Clinton announced her 2016 campaign.

YOUNG: And I have a big following on social media, so I think that people are listening.

That's the thing that I want to get out there, is the message of... that you can broaden the party, you can make it a bigger tent.

In North Carolina, we have control of the Senate.

We have control of all three branches-- executive, legislative and judicial branch-- for the first time in over 100 years.

So it is really a good time to be a Republican here.

I don't have much love for the two-party system.

Democrats and Republicans have done vast amounts of harm to black communities for a long time.

And so I think that they'll just continue to do what it takes to get the votes, or say what it takes to get the votes.

HINOJOSA: North Carolina is one of ten swing states where millennials could be the deciders in the 2016 presidential election.

We wanted to know if the young black voters we met here will turn out this year.

Have you ever sat down and had a roundtable conversation with young Republicans?

I ain't never seen this before.

(laughter) But I'm appreciative of this time and space to share for real.

If we're not talking to each other, what's the point of it?

HINOJOSA: Does everybody in the table agree that voting is something that everyone must do?

I would say that I would encourage people to vote, but I wouldn't say that it's something that you must do.

I don't believe in having to choose between the lesser of two evils.

Like, I just...

I'm just not...

I'm not for that.

So you might... you might not vote?

Who knows?

We... we will see.

I mean... April?

I'm not endorsing a candidate.

HINOJOSA: You're also on the same page, right?

You say you're not sure if you're going to... MARKEECE YOUNG: I'm not sure, I don't know.

Emmanuel?

I will not vote for the Democratic candidate.

HINOJOSA: I just wanna say, that's very interesting to have a group of heavily politically involved young black folks in the state of North Carolina and none of you actually said, "Definitely, I'm voting Democrat," or "I'm voting Republican."

None of you did.

HINOJOSA: All the research about millennials confirms that more of them identify as independent than any other age group.

A lot of millennials get a bad rap for not being engaged and involved.

They're engaged and involved, but just not in the same ways that people want them to be.

HINOJOSA: Irving and Holden say they're engaging their communities through local action.

ALLEN: Voting is less important, maybe, to millennials if they're engaged in other ways that are building their community.

CESSION: Local politics is what affects our day-to-day lives.

We have to make sure that we're tackling what's going on in the city council and with the county commissioner.

We have to make sure that we're tackling what's happening on a state level with our governor and with our legislature.

What's going on, man?

We're signing folks up to vote for participatory budgeting.

HINOJOSA: Today, Irving and Holden are implementing participatory budgeting, or PB.

It allows local community residents to vote on how to spend a portion of the city's budget.

So there are community improvement projects for parks, and things for, like, bus shelters around the city to improve, like, the bus stops.

There's a mobile app suggestion for the buses, so you can keep track of where the bus is from your phone.

And a lot of other cool ideas.

HINOJOSA: Greensboro is one of 14 cities in the U.S., and the first in the South, to give participatory budgeting a try.

CESSION: When we think about the people who are really making up our communities, it's people who feel disenfranchised from the act of voting.

PB says if you are over the age of 14 and you live in a community in the city, then you have the ability and the right to vote.

...get you to fill out this registration form... ALLEN: We're actually presenting a solution of a different way of governance that actually gives the community power to operate.

And I think, you know, that's what Black Lives Matter is all about, is that community empowerment.

HINOJOSA: And they're hoping to expand PB to improve police-community relations.

So something we want to do is figure out how we can tie participatory budgeting to the police budget.

Right?

There should be a portion of the police budget, if our tax dollars are going to it, that should be for people to decide how we want it to be used.

We're branching out.

Markeece is our initiative for the millennials.

HINOJOSA: As for Markeece, the Black Caucus of the North Carolina Republican Party recently gave him a new assignment.

DEREK PARTEE: Millennials are coming up behind us to rebuild, reclaim this organization with a base where black Republicans can help and assist the Republican Party.

HINOJOSA: But that could be an uphill battle.

Because just 37,000 of the 1.2 million African-American voters in North Carolina are Republicans.

Once known as "The Party of Lincoln," the GOP has been losing ground with African Americans.

Now, an overwhelming 84% of black voters supports the Democratic Party.

YOUNG: The Republicans for too long think that what they're doing is working, and it's not.

They should realize that if they don't change something, that we're gonna be losing every single election, because we need to grow our base.

We need to get more minorities.

We need to get more young people.

HINOJOSA: The black millennials we met here in Greensboro are active in politics.

But in 2016, they're doing it their way.

So what do you think of the two-party system?

When you look at just the current organization and leadership in the establishment of both parties, they're not listening to the people.

So it's their given right to go find somewhere else.

And yet you believe that you getting involved can help... help that system?

I actually do.

I do think that we can get people to start paying attention.

At least try to get involved.

That's what at least I can do.

I think that we need to be organizing to build our communities.

And I think that... that we can do that through politics, or we can do that without politics.

I definitely believe that I'm here in this moment for a very particular reason.

That's to... to harness my power and to link up with other people who want to do the same thing.

I think every generation has their struggles and has their movement that they have to take up, and so I think a lot is about making that decision to be a part of it, to get involved.

So I'm excited to see what type of mark it's gonna leave on history.

HINOJOSA: We're in Ohio, a key swing state that has chosen the winning presidential candidate in every election for the past 50 years.

In Cleveland, host of the 2016 Republican National Convention, debates about Arab Americans are taking center stage.

We must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism.

We don't want them in our country.

The Republican Party has become the political epicenter of Islamophobia in this year's election.

HINOJOSA: In the state of Ohio, like in other parts of the country, hate crimes against Muslims have risen sharply in recent years.

NEWSCASTER: ...three female Muslim women to be attacked.

A foreign businessman in Ohio wearing a traditional robe and head scarf falsely accused of being a terrorist.

HINOJOSA: Ohio Governor John Kasich has called for a moratorium on the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

Should anybody come in here before the end of the year?

The answer to that should be no.

HINOJOSA: We've come here to see if Islamophobia is motivating greater political engagement from this city's Arab American community.

We're just going to have to tie it in a soft knot.

HINOJOSA: Okay, you can tie it.

Sarah Mohammad gave me a tour of the Islamic Center of Cleveland, the largest mosque in Ohio.

It's kind of a home away from home, really.

It's a place where anyone's welcome.

A lot of individuals who have never met Muslims have the perspective of Muslims based on the media.

People from Middle East are always looked upon as barbaric and, you know, psychotic and, you know, full of violence and rage and hate.

And that's not who we are.

But it wasn't until the political candidates started insulting and degrading Muslims where I felt like I needed to get involved and have our voices heard and show them that this is not something that's okay.

HINOJOSA: Sarah was born and raised in Cleveland.

She's a senior studying Arabic and biology at Cleveland State University.

As president of the Muslim Students Association, Sarah hosts fundraisers for Syrian refugees and events like Hijab Day, where non-Muslim women wear a head scarf for a day.

SARAH MOHAMMAD: To get women to understand, "Okay, this is the life of a Muslim woman."

Putting yourself in her shoes, and experiencing how people deal with her, and how people look at her.

Where did that come from, that desire to be politically engaged in opening Islam up to others?

So when I was in high school, I did a whole bunch of different activities.

I played a lot of sports.

I was running on a street not too far from here, and I remember someone slowing down their car, and they were shouting something.

And I had my earphones in.

I'm just like, "What, what?"

So I took them off and he said, "Go back to your country.

Go back to where you were born."

And he was like, "F you," and he was flicking me off.

And you're born and raised in Cleveland?

Born and raised in Cleveland.

HINOJOSA: Islam is the fastest growing religion in the U.S. today.

But most Arab Americans are actually Christian, not Muslim.

SHERRIE MIDAY: This is the Justice Center.

HINOJOSA: And you're like, "Yeah, this is..." This is where you want to be.

This is where I want to be.

This is where I will be.

HINOJOSA: Sherrie Miday is the only Arab American running for office this year in the state of Ohio.

A lawyer since 2001, she wants to become a judge in the county's Common Pleas Court.

Sherrie is a Christian, born in Cleveland.

I didn't feel very different growing up.

You know, we lived in a community that we felt welcome.

Post-9/11, it's more of a prejudice, a fear.

Discrimination.

I'm associated with being Arab, an Arab American.

And that has a very negative connotation today.

But it didn't used to?

I've never felt it before.

Until I put myself on the public stage, I've never felt that bigotry.

HINOJOSA: This is Sherrie's second time campaigning for a judgeship.

Even though she's not Muslim, she's experienced Islamophobia because of her Egyptian heritage.

MIDAY: I ran in 2014.

And the attacks were vicious.

And they were... they were hurtful.

And I didn't know how to process them.

I really didn't.

Because I never felt it before.

Can you take me back to when you say you didn't know how to process these attacks?

Like, what were those emotions like?

The first time I knew that rumors were being pushed, I was at a forum at a nursing home.

And I introduced myself to an elderly woman, and she said, "Is it true, the rumors that I'm hearing?"

And I said, "What rumors?"

And she said, "That you plan to bring Sharia law into our justice system."

And I didn't know how to answer her.

You know, I literally took a step back because, I said, “Are you kidding me?"

What else was being said about you?

I was referred to as an Arab terrorist.

It took the breath out of me.

And I sat in my car and I cried.

And it's bringing those feelings back now thinking about how I felt that day.

And when I got over the tears, I thought, "I have to do something about this."

You combat this racism by winning.

Some tables for the voter registration.

HINOJOSA: Julia Shearson is the executive director of the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights organization.

Can you fill it now?

It's most important to fill it now, yeah.

HINOJOSA: Julia grew up in a Catholic family that traces its roots to the Mayflower.

She converted to Islam in 2002 after studying the religion at Harvard University.

SHEARSON: The minute I put on my scarf and professed that I believed in Islam, I really started to understand what it was like to be treated like a second-class citizen.

It was quite a shock, you know, to go from being a person of privilege, you know, European American, to becoming basically a suspect in my own land.

What does that look like, kind of on a daily?

I was driving, and somebody came speeding past me just mouthing all these profanities and just screaming at me.

It wasn't my driving-- I'm a very good driver.

It was about, you know, my scarf.

I mean, it was very clear.

But what really concerns me more are the kind of systemic policies and procedures.

Things like discrimination when it comes to banking or employment discrimination.

There's been targeting of Arab American mom and pop shops.

There have been charities closed down.

Students have had their visas stripped.

There's constant FBI questioning.

Grossly discriminatory treatment that our community has been put under.

HINOJOSA: Has that translated into political engagement?

SHEARSON: People are more engaged, particularly in this election.

You know, they are starting to register to vote.

Our registration, that's picking up.

HINOJOSA: CAIR is part of a national campaign to register one million voters before Election Day.

Okay, brother.

You want to sign against Islamophobia?

Yes, yes.

Thank you very much.

You can use the table over there.

It's important to encourage and to help the Muslim community and Arab community to get to know what their rights are.

And one of them is really to register to vote.

I took an oath to myself to make sure that I register as many Muslims and Arabs as I can.

HINOJOSA: Immigration from the Middle East to the U.S. began in the 1880s.

An estimated 3.6 million Americans now trace their roots to an Arab country.

The community in Ohio is the eighth largest in the U.S. and has more than doubled in the past 35 years.

Over 25,000 are estimated to live in the Cleveland metropolitan area, but precise numbers are hard to come by, because the census classifies Arab Americans as white.

I became a U.S. citizen back in 1985.

And I've voted in every election.

Most of the time, I am independent.

First of all, I want to guarantee that Mr. Trump, he will not be president.

I fear one day they will knock on my door, take me, my wife, put me in concentration camps, like they had for the Japanese here.

And it can happen.

Anything can happen.

HINOJOSA: In 2000, Arab Americans voted overwhelmingly for George W. Bush.

But following 9/11, the Patriot Act, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, there was a major shift.

Today, almost twice as many Arab Americans identify as Democrats than as Republicans.

After 9/11, would you say that, in broad strokes, the Arab-American, Muslim-American population turned away from the Republican Party?

Well, I would say that they fled to the exits as fast as they could.

I mean, they fled in droves.

But in the post-9/11 world, we're somewhat, I would say, radioactive to political leaders.

HINOJOSA: Do you think that the Muslim-American community of Ohio, do you think they feel politically powerful?

Unfortunately, I don't think they do.

My dad, he's been here for almost 25 years, and he has not voted once.

And he's a citizen of the United States.

He just said the political system is unfair.

I feel like a lot of them come from Middle Eastern countries that are dealing with a lot of issues politically, and so they come to this nation, and they feel that, "Why should I waste my time and try and incorporate my voice when a change is not gonna come?"

And that's the problem we're trying to combat.

HINOJOSA: Tonight, Sarah Mohammad organized a civic engagement event at Cleveland State University to mobilize new voters.

Awesome.

I hope you guys enjoy the event.

Thank you so much for joining us today to discuss this important topic-- how to overcome racism, discrimination and oppression in the Arab, black, and Latino community.

HINOJOSA: The speakers include Julia Shearson...

It's really important that you all step up and take the lead.

HINOJOSA: ...and Linda Sarsour.

As executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, Linda has emerged as one of the country's most vocal Muslim Americans.

Colleagues of mine have referred to me as every Islamophobe's worst nightmare, and it's because women like me defy every stereotype that every Islamophobe tries to propagate against the American Muslim community.

You know, I stand before you here today first and foremost unapologetically Muslim.

Our roots are so deep in this country.

We have to start acting like we belong here, sisters and brothers.

This is our country too.

Just like black history is American history, Islam is American history, and you need to own that.

I think that we as a community need to stand up and start engaging the democratic process.

So for me, engaging people in voter registration, voter engagement, voter turnout, is a way to send a message to the establishment, but also to the opposition, that we are a political force in this country and we will fight for our rights.

HINOJOSA: After losing her 2014 campaign for judgeship by six percent, Sherrie Miday is intent on winning this time by building a coalition across racial, ethnic, and religious lines.

MARCIA FUDGE: I want you to know that the person standing next to me is my candidate.

Now, and in November.

(applause) This is our year to win this election.

I'm running because the fire in my belly is burning so much stronger than it did in 2014.

With your support, we will win, and I will make you proud.

Thank you all very much.

(applause) Unless we support candidates that represent our heritage and our culture, we don't have a voice.

Thanks for being here.

Absolutely!

MIDAY: Now, running for judge doesn't give me a voice on issues.

But it's the step that we need to take to elect one, and then the rest will come.

HINOJOSA: Arab Americans may be a small voting block-- two percent of the voters here in Ohio, and one percent nationally-- but they're concentrated in key swing states like Ohio, Michigan, and Florida.

And in a tight race, they could make a difference.

SHEARSON: This is our civil rights moment.

This is our Selma.

There's lot at stake.

We're on the cusp of, like, losing any of the shred of the rights we have left.

I mean, when people are talking about banning you from the country, we're at a whole new level.

You know, this is probably the most important election facing the American people, maybe in our history.

MIDAY: I want my kids to have the same America that I had growing up, where no one really cared where you were from.

And I could be the girl playing with the hula hoop on the playground, just like anybody else.

Do you think we're gonna be able to get that America?

I think so.

I think with the right leadership, with the right dialogue, and inserting ourselves in that dialogue, we'll eventually get there.

HINOJOSA: If she wins, Sherrie will make history.

She will be the very first Egyptian-American woman elected to office in the United States.

HILLARY CLINTON: Florida is so much a symbol of America-- diverse, dynamic, optimistic.

I love the Hispanics, I love you.

If we win Florida, it's over.

If we win... (cheers and applause) If we win Florida and Ohio, it's really over, okay?

HINOJOSA: Perhaps nowhere is the battle for new voters more critical this year than in Florida, a key swing state where one in four residents are Latino and one in six Latino voters are evangelicals.

How will this politically unpredictable voting block exert their power in this election?

(congregation singing) HINOJOSA: It's Sunday morning at Calvary Church, one of the largest megachurches in Florida.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

HINOJOSA: Husband and wife Gabriel and Jeanette Salguero lead bilingual services for some 4,000 worshippers in Orlando.

GABRIEL SALGUERO: Hay que ser un pueblo en marcha.

JEANETTE SALGUERO: We need to be a people on the move.

Un pueblo con estrategia, proposito y destino.

A people with strategy, with purpose, and with destiny.

Y eso es lo que somos.

And that is who we are.

El pueblo Latino evangelico de Centro Florida.

JEANETTE SALGUERO: The Latino evangelical people in Central Florida.

Amen.

So help me to understand what exactly it means to be evangelical right now.

So to be evangelical is to believe in the authority of scripture as the word of God.

To believe that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.

It's not a political definition.

It's a theological and spiritual definition.

Although it's used as a political definition.

But with all due respect, Pastor, when you're up there talking about, you know, the more political side of it, you're on fire.

Yes, I am.

HINOJOSA: You like that stuff.

We're passionate about it.

Well, I think that the Gospel makes a claim on all of life.

All of it.

Personal life, relational life, economic life, and political life.

And we don't shy away from that.

Let us pray.

HINOJOSA: Gabriel got national attention in 2012 and again in 2016 when he delivered the benediction at the Democratic National Convention.

Almighty God, we come to you tonight because we recognize our desperate need of you.

Each of us, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, we know that we depend on you and that you love us all.

HINOJOSA: Evangelicals make up 35% of all Americans and about six million of them are Latino.

Evangelicos are hard to pigeonhole on political issues.

While they oppose abortion and same-sex marriage, they support a minimum wage increase and immigration reform, including a path to citizenship.

In the past four presidential elections, both George W. Bush and Barack Obama won the Latino evangelical vote.

We are the quintessential swing voters.

It's very, very hard to peg Latino evangelicals.

When I go to a place, they say, "Dr. Salguero, Latino so and so," they go, "Oh, he's Latino, he must be a Democrat."

And they're like, "Evangelical pastor."

Oh, he's evangelical, he must be a Republican."

"But then he's a Latino evangelical.

What is he?"

HINOJOSA: And as founders of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, the Salgueros' influence extends across the country through a television program and Christian radio shows.

HINOJOSA: Gabriel and Jeanette Salguero network with over 3,000 churches to get Latino evangelicals in swing states out to vote.

Today, they're training church youth in voter registration.

GABRIEL SALGUERO: How many of you are under 25, of our volunteers?

The worst thing we can do is have young people disengage from our democracy.

You're an important part of this as Christians and evangelicals who think our vote matters.

You remember some years ago that famous pop artist Puff Daddy did Rock the Vote.

Well, we're gonna rock the vote Latino evangelical style.

HINOJOSA: And here to rock the vote at a Calvary Church civic engagement event is 19-year old Maria Lozano.

She's from Mexico and has lived in the U.S. undocumented since she was one year old.

LOZANO: Growing up was definitely not easy.

It felt like we were just living in the shadows, worrying if we would survive another day here, or if we would become a deportation statistic.

I felt disqualified-- I felt like my voice didn't matter.

HINOJOSA: In 2012, an immigration policy called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, granted Maria "Dreamer" status, exempting her from deportation.

That same year, she joined the evangelical church.

My perspective changed and everything.

Like, it was no more negativity, no more, like, depression.

Like, I felt alive, I felt new, I felt like a whole different person.

HINOJOSA: Maria is channeling her faith into political activism, taking part in pro-immigration rallies and anti-abortion protests.

HINOJOSA: What did that feel like, from feeling invisible as a young person, to suddenly saying, "I still may not have papers, but now I feel visible"?

I definitely feel empowered.

I'm gonna act as if I'm documented.

I'm gonna believe as if I'm documented.

I'm going to speak as if I was documented.

What was it like to register people to vote, even though you can't vote?

LOZANO: It was a great experience seeing many Latinos, evangelical, just rise up and say, "Yes, I am going to vote."

Even if I don't have the right to vote, as one body, as one church, they're standing in and fighting for me as well.

ELECTION OFFICIAL: 51 people.

Woo!

Awesome.

HINOJOSA: A record 27 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in the 2016 election, and both political parties are investing heavily in outreach to Latino voters.

Nancy Rosado is a lifelong Democrat and former president of Orlando's Democratic Hispanic Caucus.

She calls herself a phone bank warrior.

Yeah, hi, Antonio.

My name is Nancy Rosado.

I'm a volunteer with the Democratic Party.

You know the elections this year are kind of heated, and we need all the help we can get.

Okay, all right, you have a great day.

Okay, bye-bye.

It's not always easy.

A lot of times you get hang-ups.

Not everyone's happy to hear from you on a Saturday morning when they're trying to do all their housekeeping and all the rest of that.

ROSADO: The reason I'm calling you today is that we're kind of reaching out... ROSADO: Fortunately for us, when you get the GOP candidate making comments about building walls and sending people back, the sympathy factor kicks in real quick, and it helps to pull us together.

We will build the wall-- don't worry, we will build the wall.

We will build the wall.

HINOJOSA: But Donald Trump also wants to win over los evangelicos.

National, Hispanic, Christian-- three great words.

You're gonna be very happy.

You're gonna like President Trump.

HINOJOSA: Gary Berrios is an evangelical pastor and field director for the GOP's faith outreach in Central Florida.

We met him and other Trump supporters at a Puerto Rican restaurant in Orlando.

GARY BERRIOS: For me as a Christian, there are certain values that the Republican Party stands that are very similar to my values.

What would those be?

Pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, small government and lower taxes.

When a Christian sees Donald Trump, that he might not be way on the right, he might be more center, still he reflects more the values of the Latino families, which are mainly conservative, especially in the state of Florida.

HINOJOSA: In fact, Gary just registered a new voter.

And here it says that you are a citizen, right, of the United States.

HINOJOSA: What did you choose for your party affiliation?

ELENA GRADY: Republican Party of Florida.

(applause) Congratulations, God bless you.

HILLARY CLINTON: I believe anyone who wants to be president should give attention to Puerto Rico and should remind our fellow Americans: Puerto Ricans are American citizens.

HINOJOSA: Perhaps the most coveted Latino voters in Florida this year are the 1,000 families relocating every month from Puerto Rico, fleeing mounting debt and economic crisis.

Puerto Ricans are the fastest growing group in Orlando, and they're radically transforming the state's electoral map.

Once dominated by conservative Cubans, Latinos in Florida are more diverse today and more politically unpredictable.

You're both Puerto Rican?

We are.

We are.

HINOJOSA: How does it feel to be part of the group of most powerful Puerto Ricans in the world?

Because you can swing the State of Florida.

We could.

we are a powerful voting bloc.

41% of Latino evangelicals are independent.

My first allegiance is to the Gospel and not to the Republicans or the Democrats.

I think if there's any gift Latino evangelicals bring to the public sphere, is we can't be captive to partisan politics.

Maybe it is a new day in the U.S. electorate where the independents are gonna say, "Neither party has everything that we need," and instead of kowtowing to the parties, the parties are going to have to address the needs of the voters.

HINOJOSA: Gabriel and Jeanette are part of a national trend-- a growing number of voters who identify as independent.

When it comes down to it, when you have to vote for president...

Yes.

In November.

What are you gonna do?

I'm gonna vote.

For sure?

I'm gonna vote for sure.

Even if I have to put a name down, I'm gonna vote.

So you might consider doing a write-in?

Possibly, possibly.

What is the issue for you, if there was one, that's like, you know, the tipping point?

Well, I will say we've publicly denounced Trump's xenophobia.

It does not stand well with our people.

At the same time, we've told Secretary Clinton, "We disagree with you "on issues of marriage, and we disagree with you on a whole host of issues on religious liberty."

And so we have no problem telling people, "Here's where we agree..." JEANNETTE: Right.

"...and here's where we disagree."

And our votes count.

Even if you write in a third candidate, or you choose the lesser of two evils or the greater of the two goods, however you want to parlay that.

We're gonna vote.

And we're telling our people to vote.

HINOJOSA: The birthplace of the Reagan Revolution, Orange County, California, has been a conservative stronghold for four decades.

But it's been going through a profound demographic shift.

This year, three candidates in the California primary are running to become the next state senator for District 29.

And two of them are Asian American.

LING LING CHANG: I'm running for the 29th state senate seat.

This is the first time I'm running for elective office.

My name is Sukhee Kang; I'm running for state senate.

HINOJOSA: Asian Americans are the fastest growing group in the United States, increasing at a rate that's four times faster than the rest of the nation.

And Asian American voter turnout has nearly doubled over the past decade.

We came here to find out if Asian-American voters will exercise their growing power and become the new deciders.

(cheers and applause) This election is about making a positive change in the state senate.

This Senate District 29 needs a new leadership.

HINOJOSA: Sukhee Kang is Korean American and the former mayor of Irvine, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, with over 40% Asian-American population.

He's a small business owner who came to the United States in his 20s and later turned to politics.

That's what Sukhee Kang is all about!

HINOJOSA: He's kicking off a rally to energize his volunteers to get out the vote before the crucial California primary.

This is a traditionally Republican district, and for the first time, a Democrat has a shot at the seat.

Party leaders are putting high hopes on Sukhee.

All eyes are watching this race.

This is a bellwether race.

And guess what-- you're turning cities blue right here in Orange County.

(crowd chanting "Sukhee") HINOJOSA: Josh Newman is running for the state senate seat against Sukhee Kang and Ling Ling Chang.

He's an Army veteran and a new father.

With respect to the possible ascendance of Asian Americans in Orange County politics, it is interesting that the two other candidates, one Republican and one Democrat, are the party supported candidates.

So not sure that says much about the demographics per se, but it does say something about the perception among party leadership.

I had a bunch of literature translated into Chinese and into Korean, but never really had a huge need for it.

HINOJOSA: While Josh says he didn't try to appeal to Asian voters, their numbers have been growing in District 29.

In just over two decades, Orange County lost 15% of its white population, gained 86% of Latinos and over 130% more Asians.

LING LING CHANG: You know, I just find it very interesting.

Growing up, didn't have very many Asians, and now it's everywhere you see in all the storefronts, and a lot of folks in the neighborhoods are Asian American.

So it's been fascinating for me to follow.

HINOJOSA: Ling Ling Chang was just three years old when her family came from Taiwan and settled in Diamond Bar, 25 miles east of L.A.

It was the 1980s, and Diamond Bar was 90% white.

When Ling Ling became its mayor in 2011, Diamond Bar's population had grown to over 50% Asian.

For Ling Ling, this election is about changing what the Republican Party looks like.

CHANG: The perception is still that the Republican Party is a party of, you know, all due respect, old white males.

I want to be able to tell the younger generation why I am Republican.

The race is going well?

Very well.

BRYAN DONG: She's not only Asian, but she's also a woman.

And the fact that she is able to make a name for herself, and the fact that she's able to pursue a career in politics just demonstrates the fact that the status quo doesn't stop her.

HINOJOSA: Mary Anne Foo is the executive director of the Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance, or OCAPICA.

And she sees the potential of the Asian-American vote.

Today, she recruited a group of volunteers to participate in a get-out-the-vote effort targeting Asian-American voters.

MARY ANNE FOO: We have over 60 different ethnic groups representing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders here in the county.

So our phone bankers are speaking quite a few languages.

Our pitch to Asian voters is they need to have a voice.

We have the third largest Asian American and Pacific Islander population in the nation.

I think it's changed the politics of the area.

People really thought Orange County was mostly Republican, but now it's a third, a third, a third-- a third Republican, a third Democrat, and a third declined to state.

HINOJOSA: A generation ago, Republican registration in Orange County was 52%.

Now it's around 39%, and the margin is shrinking.

Republican strategist and national committee member Shawn Steel is betting that having more Asian Americans on the ballot will help grow the GOP.

This is the kind of recruitment that my party has to have if it's gonna be viable in the future in California.

HINOJOSA: Shawn is married to a Korean American, Michele Park Steel, who was elected supervisor of California District 2.

SHAWN STEEL: This is a week before the election.

They were all looking pretty good.

HINOJOSA: Steel backed four Asian-American women running for public office in Orange County's 2014 midterm election, including Ling Ling Chang and his own wife.

And they all won.

Not only did they all win, they won by decisive numbers.

This is literally changing the face of the Republican Party.

Anytime I can get to an Asian association, I will talk about, "Boy, are there opportunities for you."

In the Republican Party.

Yeah, Republicans will vote for you.

White Republicans will vote for you if you just give them a strong, articulate, pro-freedom message.

HINOJOSA: And that's exactly what Ling Ling is doing.

And I have to tell you she's been very helpful to the business people in this area.

Thank you.

I'm hoping I can count on your support.

I just think Asian Americans, in terms of our values, are very much aligned with Republican values.

We believe in liberty, limited government, personal responsibility, and really trying to lift people up at the base level rather than just, you know, providing handouts.

Politics tends to be obviously very relational, and just having the right spokesperson who understands the heritage, who goes out into the communities, I think that hasn't happened in the past.

SUKHEE KANG: Asian American felt the Democratic Party works much better with the immigrant communities.

Our issues are not anything different than mainstream issues-- education, business, infrastructure, healthcare.

I'm a small businessman.

I've had an extensive business background.

I know the agony of small business people.

My second core value is education.

I strongly believe that we can do a better job in enhancing the quality of education in California.

ARMANDO TELLES: Before yesterday's rally, we had a total of 2,696 at-the-door contacts.

With yesterday's rally, as of today, this morning, we now have 3,935 contacts.

Wow, almost double.

We added 1,239 more door knocks here in our district.

(cheers and applause) So what are some of the barriers?

Still the ethnic names is a challenging... What do you mean?

The Chinese and Koreans and, you know, other names, compares to easy to remember kind of a name phonetically.

That's what really matters in the election.

Actually when I first ran for city council in 2004, I put, just to, you know, help the pronunciation, I put "SUE-KEY"-- Sue Key-- right?

So when they see Sue, they just don't know whether I'm a man or woman.

What's it like to run for office as an Asian-American woman?

It has been a fascinating experience.

People have asked a variety of questions.

You know, whether or not I can speak English.

They weren't sure if Ling Ling's a man or a woman.

Frankly a lot of people still wonder that, um, but that's, that's why I want to connect with people face to face, door to door.

Even though Asian Americans are growing rapidly in this area, it's still a challenge?

It's still a challenge.

You know, Asian Americans are beginning to get involved and start voting, but there are a lot of misperceptions about voting.

We have to kind of say, "Hey, your vote does matter."

HINOJOSA: Nationally, Asian-American voter turnout lags behind other groups.

So why do you think that the participation rate of Asian Americans in electoral politics is still so low?

Because no one's really outreached to them and no one's called them.

And especially in language, whether it was Vietnamese or Korean, or Mandarin, they were so excited to get that information about the importance of voting.

I think we're seeing it change now because quite a few Asian American and Pacific Islander community organizations are getting involved and registering people to vote.

HINOJOSA: It's primary day in Orange County and we're checking in with the three candidates.

6:45 a.m. and Ling Ling Chang is giving out coffee at the local train station.

So hopefully you'll consider voting for me.

HINOJOSA: We also caught up with Josh Newman as he voted.

NEWMAN: So we've done lots of different grassroots approaches, from door knocking to canvassing to house warmings to things that people think are a little bit hokey, but seem to get people's attention.

KANG: Have you voted yet?

WOMAN: I'm about to.

Okay, great, I caught you right place then.

Okay, I'm Sukhee Kang.

I'm former mayor of Irvine.

HINOJOSA: And Sukhee Kang is doing one last push to talk to voters.

Can I count on your vote?

Okay, great.

Thank you very much!

Your vote will be critical winning this election.

HINOJOSA: The votes are in... And the Asian-American voter turnout in Orange County went up by a dramatic 80% from 2012.

Ling Ling Chang got the most votes and will represent the Republican Party in the general election in November.

Josh Newman was the winner in the Democratic primary.

Sukhee Kang lost, but only by 5,400 votes.

KANG: Still the racial card is on in politics.

Having two Asian candidates, certainly that split Asian votes.

But, in the end, the Asian-American voter turnout has been increasing year after year, and election after election.

So this is a good sign that Asian-American voters must come out strongly.

HINOJOSA: The Asian-American population is growing rapidly in swing states like Nevada, North Carolina, and Virginia.

And their continued growth could have a profound impact in elections to come.

It's really going to change.

You're going to see Asian Americans voting in really high concentration and making a difference in the elections.

Do these voters believe that they have power?

Yes, the voters definitely know that they have power and that they could be a game changer.

They're seeing so many Asian Americans get voted into office and I think when they saw the power of their vote to change what policy makers look like here in the county, I think that's when they saw that they could have power.

HINOJOSA: We are witnessing power shifts in the making.

The communities we visited are emerging into political leadership and activism.

Their engagement is impactful, giving voice to those who have felt marginalized or targeted.

Changing demographics are forecasting the future.

With increased voter turnout, millennials, Latinos, Asian and Arab Americans will undoubtedly be the new deciders.

To learn more about this and other episodes of America by the Numbers, please visit pbs.org.

America by the Numbers: The New Deciders is available on DVD.

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Thank you.