DEARBORN — With the general elections approaching this week, many Arab Americans still remain uncertain over which presidential candidate to support on Tuesday as both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have made minimal efforts to reach out to the community, leading many residents to question whether they should cast a vote for a president at all.  

The lack of enthusiasm for the presidential race is still not discouraging many local  leaders from alerting the community to turn out on Election Day to cast their votes regardless, highlighting the importance of supporting other candidates on the ballots, from school board positions to judge seats, signifying that there will be a lot at stake on November 6.

The Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC), like every other election year, is focusing on informing Arab American residents on their best choices come election day. The AAPAC slate of endorsements have been mailed out to locals and will be distributed at polling location on election day. But unlike any other presidential election year, AAPAC has made the decision to not endorse a president. Mariam Bazzi, President of AAPAC, says that they are still expecting a large Arab American turnout, even as many remain doubtful on a president. 

“There is enough excitement for other candidates to get people to come out and vote. Our goal is to get them to vote for our slates and educate them on the other races that they might not be aware of. Even though we haven’t endorsed a president, it’s still very important that the Arab community goes out there and votes for the candidate that best represents their values, ideas and the direction they want to see the country headed in,” Bazzi stated. 

Bazzi adds that despite the lack of efforts made by both the Obama and Romney campaigns, other candidates in the state and surrounding counties have recognized the Arab community and the impact they could make on election day, especially in Wayne County. 

“The level of requests we’ve gotten from other candidates has certainly proved to me that the Arab vote is very important and very crucial, especially in Wayne County. People recognize that most Arab Americans will vote for the AAPAC slate, so it makes us a very powerful voting bloc. We are not divided and we generally vote for the same candidates,” Bazzi added. 

Further focusing on the importance of the Arab vote are local organizations and civil rights groups, which organized an event titled “Arab Americans: Our Voice, Our Future,” at the Lebanese Heritage Club in Dearborn on Thursday. The event, co-sponsored by The Arab American Institute, ACCESS, the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee, the Arab-American Civil Rights League, and the National Network for Arab American Communities, is a collaborative effort to educate the community on the importance of voter turn-out on election day.

Hussein Hachem, the Events Coordinator of the Lebanese Heritage Club, says in the last eight years, the Arab contribution to the elections has increased significantly. Hachem believes the reason for the surge can be attributed to the new generation of Arab Americans who are growing up in a post 9/11 era and are showing a greater investment towards their country.

“The older generation of Arab Americans are still attached to their home country and all the politics taking place there…they forget what’s going on in their own community here. But now the youth is taking the lead and are more aware of what’s going on in the United States. They all want to see improvements and take part in this community,” Hachem stated. 

One campaign that has dedicated much of its attention to reaching out to older voters is 19th District Court Judge candidate Sam Salamey’s, in an effort to increase turnout.  Salamey’s run for a seat on the bench in one of the year’s most important races could make him the first ever elected Arab American judge in the city of Dearborn. His campaign has organized an initiative to reach out to older Arab voters who are eligible to vote, but might have never participated in the election process in the past. 

In the last month Salamey’s team has encouraged older supporters to participate in the elections through absentee ballots, covering an avenue that was unfamiliar territory to Arab voters in previous elections. Salamey’s campaign manager Mallak Beydoun says Salamey’s candidacy has motivated many locals in the community who perhaps wouldn’t have shown an interest in voting prior.

“We have many people participating for the first time and people who have been participating for years. I want to encourage everyone to come out and vote, because by not voting, the people who do come out to vote will decide the election,” Beydoun stated. 

Salamey’s campaign says they are not discouraged by the lack of enthusiasm for the presidential candidates, because during the Primary in August, a record number of Arab voters still came out to support other candidates, including Salamey, placing him well ahead of his opponent Richard Wygonik, who he will be facing on election day. 

“Boycotting an election is never effective, it will inversely impact our interests. If ultimately a person decides to vote or not vote for either presidential choice, we still have the responsibility to come out and vote for other candidates such as the Dearborn School Board and Dearborn Judges who touch our lives on a daily basis with their decision making. ” Beydoun added. 

Salamey’s run for judge isn’t the only important race for the Arab American community. Aimee Blackburn and Mary Lane have made numerous efforts to reach out to the community, looking to be re-elected into  Dearborn’s School Board, addressing serious concerns regarding the state’s academic rankings for Dearborn’s schools, many of which were labeled as “Focus” schools, with room for improvement. 

The Arab turnout will also be crucial for the Crestwood School Board race in Dearborn Heights, where Arab American candidates Hamid Soueidan and Zaineb Hussein are vying to become the first elected Arab Americans in the district. In recent months, many concerned Arab parents in Dearborn Heights have expressed their dismay at school board meetings, citing lack of communication and a lack of support for ESL students as major concerns. 

Attorney Tarek Beydoun, the Legislative Committee Chair of AAPAC, says many efforts have been made to bring awareness to the Arab community regarding the elections. During election week, robocalls will also alert residential homes, reminding them to go out and support the AAPAC slate.

“The schoolboard is on the line, the candidate for judge needs votes too. Arab Americans need to be counted regardless of their choices. When politicians look at our community, if they see that we don’t vote, then we won’t matter to them and that’s problematic because we’ll begin to lose positions and seats. I think the most important message here is to go out and vote. We don’t care who people support for president, but we need to vote,” Beydoun stated.