- [Announcer] Next Door Neighbors is made possible by the support of the Nissan Foundation.

(upbeat music) - Morning.

- Good morning.

- Thanks for coming out today - Why vote?

Because it is the most powerful thing that we can do.

No one can take that away from us, even in the midst of all of this suppression efforts that we're hearing about.

It is the most powerful thing that we can do.

- This is my first time voting in a presidential election.

That means a lot to me.

Being from a family of immigrants and being able to go and represent my family that can't vote and people that I know and people that are like me that can't vote.

- [Nina] Half of US immigrants were eligible to vote, and their numbers have been growing.

According to Pew Research Center, naturalized citizens make up 10% of the US electorate, that's over 23 million voters, nearly double what it was in 2000.

Those growing numbers make the immigrant vote a coveted prize for both parties.

For example, Latinos make up the largest immigrant voting block and reflect a broad diversity of voting preferences.

- The Latino vote is definitely not a monolith.

We come from all across the world, and so we have a lot of different point of views on different things.

- [Nina] Raul Lopez is the founder of Latinos for Tennessee, a statewide conservative group.

While his primary issues are faith, family and the economy, he also believes in diplomacy.

- Our country right now is very split between conservatives and liberals, and I hope that a Latino community could be the example of ones that though we might disagree, we could sit down civilly and discuss issues and concerns, and work together, and not put up a wall right away, just because one is a conservative and one's a liberal.

- [Nina] Here at Casa Azafran, a community center in South Nashville, early voters wait in line to cast their ballots in the 2020 presidential election.

This popular polling site is also home to Conexion Americas, an organization serving the needs of Nashville's Latino community.

- I think voting is core to our mission, in the sense that it promotes a sense of belonging for someone.

I think if you vote, if you have the power to vote, you have the power to change your community.

You have so much power.

You have the power to elect your representatives, the people who are making policies that directly affect your everyday life.

So for the immigrant community, for the new American community, that's extremely important.

- [Nina] In the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, people of all backgrounds were voting in record numbers eager to exercise their rights as citizens.

For some, it was a referendum on immigration itself.

- I'm voting for the best outcome as coming from an immigrant family to show that we come for a better life, not cause we're rapists, criminals, drug dealers, we come for a better life for our family and for ourselves.

- 2020 is a very crucial election year, no doubt about it.

The stakes are really high, and we wanna continue to build our power, continue to build an immigrant voting block, a refugee voting block, and a person of color voting block that keeps coming out to the polls over and over and over again until our voices are heard by these elected officials.

- [Nina] For Polly Nguyen however, the enthusiasm was tempered by an accompanying sense of dread.

- And so right now I'm feeling kind of scared.

I'm not gonna lie about that.

I am kind of scared because you know, people are getting ready for riots, people are getting ready for, you know, civil unrest and all these other things.

- [Nina] Despite anxieties about the potential for civil unrest, the November 3rd election was largely peaceful, and the department of Homeland Security reported it to be the most secure election in US history.

But in the weeks that followed, unfounded accusations of widespread voter fraud were leveled by outgoing president, Donald Trump and tensions mounted.

- Go on in.

- Take it anymore, this is our country.

- [Nina] On January 6, 2021, a violent mob stormed the Capitol, trying and failing to thwart Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election.

Five people died, including law enforcement.

Over 140 were injured.

- I think I want decency.

I wanna make sure that all the elected officials need to step away from the division, the polarization that we have right now.

We need someone to bring us together.

- I just wanna see more people like me represented in Congress or even the presidential office in the future.

I just want people to have me in mind, people like me, my community.

(Star-Spangled Banner) - [Nina] On January 20th, 2021, Joe Biden took office, and Kamala Harris became the first female vice president in US history, the daughter of immigrants.

She is also the first black and Asian VP.

Today, nearly a quarter of voting members of Congress are racial or ethnic minorities.

That's up 97% since 2001.

- Forge our union with purpose to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.

- [Nina] Duretti Ahmed is a student at Vanderbilt University.

As a second generation Ethiopian-American, seeing greater diversity in government represents welcome progress, but it's not enough on its own.

- I would say seeing women of color in positions of power, it's nice to see on, you know, a surface level, it's very nice to see someone like me on TV.

You know, growing up, I didn't really see much of that, but what I look for in a candidate, honestly, skin color, ethnic identity, racial identity, religion is not really the first thing that matters, it's really about your politics, it's about what you support.

You can't really vote based on all these identities and not look at the politics, so that can be a dangerous thing.

So I really just look for someone who, you know, supports human rights.

- [Nina] Balancing the responsibilities of elected office while working to improve life for those on the margins is a topic Fabien Bedne knows well.

Today he works for the mayor's office in planning and infrastructure, but prior to that, he was the first foreign born person ever elected to Nashville Metro Council.

Bedne describes his initial days in office as a balancing act.

- I took on some issues that were common to everybody.

And I started working on this idea of who is everyone.

I realized that people have different definitions of what everyone means.

For me, everyone was everyone.

White, blacks, Latinos, gays, people from all backgrounds, Muslims.

I mean, you can't really just say that you're talking about everyone when you're starting to pick and choose who will fall into that definition.

- [Nina] While Bedne no longer serves on the council, he did pave a way for others.

- We need to have more people that represents all the richness of the tapestry that makes Nashville.

(applause) - And Daniella is going to register today.

(applause) - Sorry.

Yes, I'm super excited.

I wait for this day for a long time, was a process.

So I'm a new citizen, I'm a newcomer.

I'm an immigrant woman.

Just I can't wait to vote.

- [Nina] Daniella Peterson became a United States citizen just one day earlier.

Today, she's joined with fellow volunteers in a get out the vote event for Chattanooga's 2021 mayoral election, and she's hoping her enthusiasm will be contagious.

- Everyone is super excited to tell people to get out and vote.

I wanna be part of my community and I wanna be part of the change that we do.

So that's what I'm here for.

I wanna see a city that can prosper for everyone, that everyone has a voice and is heard.

So we have to make sure to have officials that are able and want to hear us.

- [Nina] Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus is the executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, and its sister organization, TIRRC Votes.

She and her colleagues partnered with local organizations to host the event.

- You know, we really believe that we're gonna build power in Tennessee from the ground up.

So it's incredibly important that our communities are coming out on every election.

We know that voting is like a muscle, and so it's important to exercise that muscle to get that practice, but also local elections really impact our daily lives, from sidewalks to schools to policing.

Elections like a mayoral race and local elections are won by several hundred votes, and, you know, immigrants and refugees, black and brown voters, they're gonna make the difference in local elections.

- I believe that our communities show ups every day.

We show up for our family, for work, then this is like one more thing that we're asking to people to show up for.

Do you think you can be here for our community so we can have elected officials that actually know that we are here, that we are not leaving.

(people cheering) - [Announcer] Next Door Neighbors is made possible by the support of the Nissan Foundation.