Ahead of elections, Asian American and Pacific Islander organizers try to break down language barriers

Hyunja Norman, center, hands out pro-voting signs at the Korean Community Center in Houston on Oct. 11, 2022. (Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune)

Lily Trieu knows the challenges facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Texas — communities that speak more than 100 languages — when it comes to participating fully in elections.

More than half of Asian Texans believe lawmakers and the government have not done enough to help them access resources like information about elections and government policies in their own languages, according to a September report by Asian Texans for Justice, a nonpartisan organization where Trieu is interim executive director.