Mixte supported PANA with a voter engagement program in the 2018 election cycle to test how to best engage AMEMSA communities in El Cajon, California, in their right to vote.
Our research project included a partnership with University of California San Diego’s Tom Wong, who is well known for his research related to immigrant and refugee integration into American economies and voting systems. Mixte created a controlled outreach project with Professor Wong to see how community-focused fliers, videos and paid social media campaigns in English and Arabic could influence registered voters to show up at polls on election day.
The Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans – PANA – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization fighting to advance the full economic, social, and civic inclusion of refugees in San Diego and the country. PANA works at the intersection of African, Middle Eastern, Muslim, & South Asian (AMEMSA) refugee communities impacted by racial/ethnic profiling, religious bias, increased government surveillance and harassment, and poverty among the many issues affecting our refugee communities.
PANA advances significant policy reforms at the city, county, and state level to ensure newly resettled refugees have equal access to family-sustaining jobs, quality and healthy homes, and meaningful education that translates to upskilling in the workforce. In addition to policy and legal advocacy, PANA uses an integrated voter engagement approach to build and leverage deep community networks, develop community leaders, and establish a civic engagement infrastructure to amplify the voice, visibility and impact of our community.
