New citizen treasures voting rights

By Russell Contreras
Globe Staff

Before the war, before the murders and the mass exodus, Eath Sao remembers, there were elections in Cambodia.
The process seemed no different from what goes on in Lowell, she said. People lined up, went to booths, and cast votes for candidates - similar, with one exception: Corrupt candidates tried to buy votes from residents.
"Voting is so different here," said Sao, who became a citizen four months ago and voted for the first time in Lowell's election in November. "There's no bribing."
The 53-year-old Sao is gearing up for Tuesday's primary, her first federal election since registering to vote. The event in this state is part of the nation's Super Tuesday primaries and could all but decide the Democratic and Republican nominees for president.
Sao would not say what party or whom she is supporting. She would say only that she is excited to be voting and proud to be an American citizen.
"I was happy to become a citizen," Sao said as her daughter, Sophy Theam, 31, translated from Khmer. "I was also happy to see so many other immigrants [at the swearing-in ceremony] and Cambodians there, too."
Asked if she also plans to vote in the general election, Sao looked confused. "She doesn't know the difference yet," Theam explained.
Following an explanation of the differences, Sao then confirmed that, yes, she plans to vote in that election, too.
Born in Cambodia, Sao fled with three daughters from the war-torn country in 1984 and settled in Connecticut. At the time, Cambodia was run by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime that was responsible for the deaths of about 1 million people through torture, mass murders, and starvation.
Like thousands of refugees, Sao came to the United States to start over, or at least to be safe. The years that followed saw her struggling to learn English and trying to navigate around American culture. She picked up the language, somewhat, and began traveling around the country, a little.
But it wasn't until Cambodia began opening its doors to former refugees that Sao decided to become a citizen. With US citizenship, Sao could go back to visit family in Cambodia and not go through all of the bureaucratic paperwork. She also could obtain a dual-citizenship status now that the old regime is gone.
"As a citizen, it would be easier to travel" to Cambodia, she said. And she could also register to vote.
Sao registered to vote in Lowell after moving there to be close to her daughter.
Lowell, though "very cold," is a city that has grown on her and might be a place where she could live "for a long time." Lowell also has a large Cambodian population that makes Sao feel comfortable, she said.
By some estimates, around 30,000 Cambodians live in Lowell. The city has the second-largest Cambodian population in the United States, behind only Long Beach, Calif.
Registering to vote had always had been a goal, Sao said, but it had not happened because it took so long to do all the paperwork for her citizenship. So, for many years, Sao merely observed US elections without taking part.
Now that she can vote, Sao said she believes that other Cambodians should register.
She acknowledged that she knows "some" things about the presidential candidates and has been following the election. By the time she gets in the booth, Sao said, she will know enough.