9/9/19 NBC News: “Asian American and Pacific Islander voters favor Biden, Sanders and Warren, according to new poll”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-american-pacific-islander-voters-favor-biden-sanders-warren-according-n1051281
9/7/19 The Hill: “Democrats ignore Asian American and Pacific Islander voters at their peril”
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/460357-democrats-ignore-asian-american-and-pacific-islander-voters-at-their-peril
8/3/19 Fox News: “Asian community could prove pivotal in determining who wins Nevada in 2020”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/asian-pacific-islander-vote-pivotal-nevada-2020
7/10/19 Washington Post: “Politicians often overlook Asian American voters. They shouldn’t, especially in 2020.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/07/10/politicians-often-overlook-asian-american-voters-they-shouldnt-especially/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.715b1044531c
Asian Americans are the fourth-largest racial group in the United States, and the Asian American population has been growing faster than any other ethnic group. 65 percent of Asian Americans are Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, while only 27 percent identify as a Republican or lean toward the GOP.
Asian American voters have historically turned out to vote at low rates, though they also report having less contact with politicians, a dynamic that might turn into a self-fulfilling cycle.
According to the Center for American Progress, 5.5 percent of the national electorate in 2016 fell into the somewhat overbroad “Asian or other race” category in 2016, not much smaller than the 8.9 percent of the electorate that was Latino. But many of these Asian American voters live in uncompetitive states such as Hawaii, California, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland and Alaska. The only two vaguely swing-y states that have solid Asian American blocs are Virginia and Nevada, so national politicians often feel free to ignore California, New Jersey, New York and other big, uncompetitive states with substantial Asian American populations.
In the 2018 House elections, Asian American voters likely helped Democrats flip a number of traditionally Republican seats in Southern California, but they didn’t play as prominent a role in other regions and competitive districts. In the 2016 presidential primary, most states with a solid Asian American population voted well after Super Tuesday, when Hillary Clinton had already built a big delegate lead over Bernie Sanders. In 2008, the calendar gave Asian American-heavy states more influence in the Democratic primary, but these voters were less numerous and less lopsidedly Democratic at that time, which blunted the impact of their votes.
The Asian American population has grown larger and increasingly Democratic, which gives it more power within the 2020 primary. Pew calculated that in 2016, Asian Americans made up about 3 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters — a significant increase from 1992, when 99 percent of Democrats were white, African American or Hispanic. And thanks to the primary calendar, they will probably have a louder voice than they had in 2008, the last genuinely competitive Democratic primary.
Nevada, a state where a modest 10 percent of the overall electorate is Asian American or Pacific Islander (AAPI) , is one of the four early voting states. California, where 15 percent of the electorate is AAPI, will also vote on Super Tuesday.
The results of the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, a gigantic survey conducted by academics, turns up few issues where Asian Americans differ substantially from other Democratic groups. Asian American Democrats seemed to be on the left on social issues, mostly similar to Hispanic Democrats on national security questions and generally believe that white people have advantages because of the color of their skin and that racial problems are not rare, isolated incidents. Other surveys have shown that Asian American voters prioritize “kitchen table issues” such as health care, the economy and education and are generally in favor of government intervention into the economy.
Part of the reason it’s challenging for politicians to draft a platform aimed at Asian Americans is that, like Latinos, that label is actually a big tent. The largest country-of-origin group is Chinese Americans, and they make up only a quarter of Asian Americans. About 20 percent of Asian Americans came from India, another fifth came from the Philippines, and many others came from Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other countries. These subgroups vary widely in their political leanings, religion, income levels and more, so it’s vital to be careful about over-generalizing and suggesting that all voters who are labeled “Asian” have the same preferences and goals.
Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, arguably has a higher chance of winning the presidency than any other Asian American in U.S. history. She could get the votes of some Asian Americans who feel underrepresented in politics and government — or that part of her identity could get lost in the conversation as she argues with Joe Biden on busing. Andrew Yang, known mostly as a high-profile advocate for a universal basic income, could also become a focal point for Taiwanese American voters.
7/8/19 Campaigns & Elections: “Engaging Asian American and Pacific Islander Voters In 2020”
https://www.campaignsandelections.com/campaign-insider/engaging-asian-american-and-pacific-islander-voters-in-2020
9/16/15 NPR: “How Asian-American Voters Went From Republican To Democratic”
by Asma Khalid
In 2012, nearly three-quarters of Asian-American voters went for President Obama. But, rewind — 20 years prior — and you’ll find fewer than a third voted Democrat.
In fact, in the span of two decades, the Asian-American vote in presidential elections has gone from being solidly Republican, to increasingly Democrat.
http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/09/16/439574726/how-asian-american-voters-went-from-republican-to-democratic
9/16/15 NBC News: “Is the GOP Losing the Asian-American Vote?”
by Chris Fuchs
For Zhonggang (Cliff) Li, Jeb Bush was an attractive presidential candidate early on.
Li, a Chinese-American resident of Florida and self-described moderate Republican, pointed to an executive order that Bush had signed in 2000 as Florida’s governor that ended race-based college admissions–an issue that resonates with many Asian Americans–as one of the reasons the Republican hopeful appealed to him.
And then came the “anchor baby” comment.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/gop-losing-asian-american-vote-n423271
1/18/13 National Journal: “10 Surprising Statistics on the Political Leanings of Asian-American Voters”
By Doris Nhan
73 percent of Asian-Americans voters supported President Obama in his reelection, an 11-percentage-
point jump from 2008.
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund conducted an in-depth exit poll of 9,096 Asian-
American voters from 14 states and the District of Columbia.
Geographically, their political leanings were consistent with how the states eventually swung. The largest
groups of Asian-American voters who voted for Republican contender Mitt Romney were from Louisiana,
Texas and Georgia. All three states went to the former governor. In contrast, an overwhelming majority of
Asians cast their vote for Obama in the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania and New York, which went blue
in 2012.
79% of respondents were foreign-born, naturalized citizens. The plurality, 45 percent, were naturalized
more than 10 years ago.
76% of respondents were formally educated in the U.S., with the plurality (40 percent) achieving a college
or university degree. Close to one-quarter of those who were educated in the U.S. have an advanced degree.
57% identified as Democrats. The next largest group, 27 percent, were not registered with a party.
Just 14 percent were Republicans.
37% of Vietnamese-Americans were registered Republicans, the largest percentage for any ethnic group.
The next largest were Filipinos, 26 percent of whom were Republicans, and Koreans at 14 percent.
84% of Indo-Caribbeans were registered as Democrats, the largest percentage of all ethnic groups,
followed by Arabs (80 percent) and Bangladeshi (79 percent).
81% of Asian-Americans in Louisiana voted for Mitt Romney. In contrast, just 2 percent of Asian-
Americans in the District of Columbia voted red.
53% of respondents said the economy and jobs were the most important factors when voting for president.
That’s followed by health care at 35 percent and education at 27 percent.
65% of respondents showed some or strong support for comprehensive immigration reform. About 21
percent strongly opposed reform or didn’t know.
99% of ethnic Tagalog respondents said they knew English very well or moderately, the largest ethnic
group to say so. The largest ethnic groups that did not know English well or at all were Vietnamese and
Chinese at 30 percent. The majority of Asian-Americans, 84 percent, said they know English very well or
moderately.
82% of first-time voters went for Obama. Just 16 percent of first-time voters supported Romney.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/politics/10-surprising-statistics-on-the-political-leanings-of-asian-american-voters-20130118
12/17/12 Sampan: “Behind the Numbers: Post-Election Survey of Asian American Voters in 2012,”
by Ling-Mei Wong
The Asian American electorate has been steadily growing with each presidential election and
is projected to be close to 3% of all votes cast in the 2012 election.
71% of Asian Americans voters in 2012 cast their ballot for President Barack Obama, and
28% voted for Governor Mitt Romney.
About 3.2 million Asian Americans cast ballots in November 2012, with about 2.3 million for
Barack Obama and 900,000 thousand for Mitt Romney.
Behind the Numbers: Post-Election Survey of Asian American Voters in 2012
12/12/12 Politico: “Poll: Obama won 71% of Asian vote”
By Bobby Cervantes
Obama won an estimated 2.3 million of their votes to Romney’s estimated 900,000 votes, or 71 percent to 28 percent, according to the survey by the Asian American Justice Center, Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote and the National Asian American Survey.
The top issues were economy and jobs, immigration, the environment and civil rights.
According to the post-election survey, 46 percent of registered voters polled and 43 percent of those who voted in the 2012 election said they do not identify with either major party.
In a raft of current and projected swing states – including North Carolina, Virginia and Florida – the Asian American population’s explosion in the last decade has outpaced the national average.
The poll notes: “In 2008, about 600,000 new Asian Americans entered the electorate, and we anticipate a similar increase in 2012, approaching 3 percent of all votes cast.”
The projected share of the Asian American vote in 2016 will continue to increase, the poll found. Asian American voters increased from 1.6 percent of the total vote in 1996 to 2.5 percent in 2008.
The poll was based on 2,785 phone interviews from Nov. 7-25 with adults who identified themselves as Asian American, and the margin of error is plus/minus 2 percent.
12/5/12 Asian Fortune News: “Why Asian Americans Voted Democratic,”
By Glenn Magpantay, Democracy Program Director at the Asian American Legal Defense and
Education Fund (AALDEF)
Nationally, a whopping 73% of Asian Americans voted for President Obama, according to the exit polls. In the swing state of Virginia, Obama captured 66% of our vote. Asian Americans were a driving force in Virginia’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race. Preliminary data from AALDEF’s exit polls reveal that 71.9% of the APPI vote went to Democratic candidate Tim Kaine, the winner.
So what drove nearly 3 out of 4 Asian Americans to cast Democratic votes? It wasn’t outreach by the political parties. The majority (51%) of Asian Americans nationally said they were never contacted by a campaign, political party, or community group to register to vote or to vote.
Moreover, Asian Americans are still struggling for equal access to the ballot, and Virginia was no
exception. A polling place in Annandale, Virginia was the site of what we characterize as one of the most egregious incidents of racial discrimination against Asian American voters, as reported by AALDEF poll monitors.
A group of elderly Korean Americans trying to vote in Annandale were discriminated against by poll
workers and asked to stand in a separate line. After those voters presented proper ID, authorities
demanded that they say their names and home addresses out loud in English, which was difficult and
embarrassing for those with limited English proficiency. The poll workers grew frustrated that the seniors didn’t understand the instructions, and then issued this order: “Korean people stand in a separate line.” The poll workers began talking to white voters, while the Korean Americans had to wait.
Nonetheless, Asian Americans made their voices heard and they were driven to vote Democratic
because of the issues themselves. Nationally, the vast majority of Asian American voters (58%) said
that fixing the economy and creating more jobs was the most important issue. 45% of Asian Americans supported a combination of tax increases and spending cuts, with 26% stating that taxes on the wealthy should be increased. Only 14% of Asian Americans supported spending cuts alone to reduce the deficit.
Which party does that sound like?
Additionally, 60% of Asian American voters supported the federal government’s role in ensuring
access to health insurance, and 57% of our community’s voters supported comprehensive immigration
reform, including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.
Among U.S. born Asian American citizens, AALDEF’s poll show support was as high as 73% for basics of the DREAM Act.
Asian American voters’ position on issues aligned strongly with the Democrats in this election, and
in swing states like Virginia, this fact made them a driving force in both the U.S. Senate and Presidential election. As the Asian American population is the fastest growing demographic nationally, politicians and parties should take note.
http://www.asianfortunenews.com/article_1212.php?article_id=51
12/3/12 Huffington Post: “Why Do Asian Americans Vote for Democrats?”
by Caroline Chen
73 percent of Asian American voters cast their ballots for Obama this fall, according to exit polls.
Data also shows that Asian Americans have shifted more to the left since 2008 than any other minority
group.
Asian Americans, an oft-neglected voting group, represent only 3 percent of the national voting
population. However, they are also the fastest growing demographic in the United States, and are also
beginning to move out of traditionally blue states (like California, Hawaii, New York and New Jersey) into
swing states like Virginia and North Carolina, making them an increasingly important demographic for
politicians to pay attention to.
But why are Asian Americans so solidly Democratic?
One of the biggest reasons is that Asian Americans align more closely with the Democratic party on
key issues, including preferring a bigger government that provides more services than a smaller
government with fewer services (55 percent to 36 percent), according to Pew study conducted in June
this year.
Asian Americans also support health care reform (about 50 percent in favor, 15-18 percent against),
according the National Asian American Survey conducted this September.
Around 18.1 percent of the Asian American population doesn’t have health insurance, compared to
the national average of 16.3 percent, according to the American Community Survey. Among Korean
Americans, one in four are without health insurance.
Asian Americans also support raising taxes on high earners, even though they are among the
highest-income racial groups in the U.S.
Sixty-two percent of high-earning Asian Americans supported raising taxes on themselves.
An overwhelming majority of Asian Americans surveyed also approve of affirmative action
(78 percent in favor, 13 percent against), an issue which Democrats have traditionally supported.
There are around 1 million undocumented Asian American immigrants in the U.S. today, notes
Christine Chen, executive director of APIAVote, a national nonpartisan organization that seeks to
mobilize the Asian American and Pacific Islander voting population, so immigration continues to be
an important issue, even if it is not the highest ranking.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-chen/asian-american-voters_b_2231418.html
11/26/12 Slate: “Why Did Asian Americans Mostly Vote for President Obama?
Democrats court them, Republicans may alienate them.”
By Richard A. Posner
According to exit polls in the Nov. 6 election, Asian American voters favored Obama over Romney
by a ratio of more than 3-to-1 (76 percent versus 23 percent). This has puzzled a number of Republicans.
Asian Americans, more than any other group, including white suburbanites, who are a backbone of
Republican support, have demographic characteristics that would seem to make them support low
taxes, fiscal austerity, conventional family values, and hostility to affirmative action (especially in higher
education) – all policies strongly associated with today’s Republican Party.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/view_from_chicago/2012/11/why_did_asian_americans_vote_for_president_obama.html
11/15/12 Asian Journal: “Asian Americans Could Be As Important As Jewish Americans In
Future Presidential Elections”
by Faith Bautista and Mia Martinez
For the first time in American history, presidential candidates actually considered courting and
including Asian Americans in their agendas for the future. But, in large measure, 18 million Asian
Americans were overlooked. It is our expectation that this will never occur again if all Asian American
communities put aside their small differences and unite on our large common goals.
http://www.asianjournal.com/op-ed/faith-bautista/18198-asian-americans-could-be-as-important-as-jewish-americans-in-future-presidential-elections.html
11/12/12 The Hill: “Unmarried voters, gays and Asian-Americans gave Obama edge”
By Ron Faucheux, president, Clarus Research Group
Since Election Day, there has been abundant chatter about the new American electorate, one that is
less traditional, less white and more diverse. No doubt, the Obama campaign’s ability to deliver victory
by surfing the waves of changing demographics — we used to call this “identity politics” — was impressive.
. . . . .
Asian Americans are a rapidly growing component of the U.S. population. They have the highest level
of educational attainment and median household income of any racial group in the nation. Four years ago,
they represented 2 percent of the voting public. This year, it was 3 percent — which translates to 3.6 million
votes cast. Over time, Democratic support within this group has dramatically increased. In 1992, Democrat
Bill Clinton lost Asian Americans to Republican George H. W. Bush by a hefty 24 points. This year,
Democrat Obama beat Republican Romney by a whopping 47 points among Asian Americans, a margin
representing 1.7 million votes.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/presidential-campaign/267355-the-changing-electorate
5/21/09 Associated Press: “Majority of NYC Asian Americans voted for Obama,”
New York (AP) – More than three-quarters of Asian American voters in New York City gave their support to Barack Obama on Election Day.
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund on Thursday released the results of its exit poll from the 2008 elections. The exit poll surveyed 8,771 Asian American voters.
The poll found that Obama got 78% of the city’s Asian American vote. Sen. John McCain got 21%.
Among Asian Americans, South Asians gave Obama the most support, with 93% of those polled voting for him.
AALDEF conducted exit polling in 11 states on Election Day.
On the Net: http://www.aaldef.org/
5/1/09 Washington Post: “Pew Study: 2008 Electorate Most Diverse Yet,”
by Dan Balz
A new study by the Pew Research Center found that participation rates among African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans all rose between 2004 and 2008, leaving the share of the electorate accounted for by white voters at an all-time low of 76.3 percent.
African American women voted at higher participation rates than any other racial or ethnic group, according to the study, which was based on an analysis of Census data. The study found that 68.8 percent of eligible black women voted in the last election, an increase of 5.1 percentage points.
White women were the next highest in participation rates, followed by white men, black men, Latino women and Latino men. Asian American men and women voted ranked at the bottom in terms of participation rates.
Overall, African Americans accounted for 12.1 percent of the electorate, up from 11 percent in 2004. Black turnout increased by two million voters.
Latinos increased their share of the electorate from 6 percent to 7.4 percent between 2004 and 2008, and, like African Americans, saw their numbers grow by two million voters. The Asian American share of the electorate grew from 2.3 percent to 2.5 percent.
Twenty years ago, the presidential electorate was 84.9 percent white. It has decreased in each presidential election since then, but the sharpest decline came between 2004 and 2008.
Obama’s candidacy was a factor in the higher participation rates among minorities, but population growth among minority groups also contributed to the changing composition of the electorate, according to the study, which was authored by Mark Hugo Lopez and Paul Taylor.
1-15-09 Northwest Asian Weekly: “63% of Asian Americans vote for Obama,”
by Amy Phan
There was a record voting turn out for minority groups across all demographics in the 2008 election.
Unlike the 2000 presidential election, Asian Americans played a key role in solidifying Obama’s success. According to exit polls of 16,000 randomly selected voters conducted by CNN/Gallup Poll, 63 percent of Asian Americans voted for Obama.
“Historically, the Asian American electorate is often viewed as a mixed bag in partisan terms. Previous elections pointed to a slight preference for the Democratic candidate,” said Taeku Lee, an associate professor of political science and law at the University of California at Berkeley .
However, 2008 exit polls revealed Asian American voters exceeded votes received by John Kerry in 2000 from Latino voters, who are viewed as a solid Democratic electorate, he continued.
Lee said key issues leading up to the 2008 election was “no different for Asian Americans than they were for the American electorate as a whole,” citing the two major concerns to be setting the “economy on a quick path to recovery and chart a way out of America’s involvement in Iraq.”
According to Lee, Obama’s presidential approval ratings will rest heavily upon his “attentive[ness]'” toward the political views and interests of “Asian American and Latino voters.”
“Asians and Latinos are the two fastest growing segments of the electorate, and the long-term viability and success is contingent on bringing these largely immigrant-based electorates into the fold,” he said.
However, Lee believes Obama’s approval from minority voters would be “solidified by handling [issues of the economy and Iraq war] with some measure of competence and forward-looking vision.”
1/5/09 press release: AALDEF Exit Poll of Over 16,000 Asian American Voters Shows Strong Support for Barack Obama in Historic 2008 Presidential Election
New York: Asian American voters favored President-Elect Barack Obama by a 3-1 margin and supported other Democratic candidates in the November 2008 elections, according to an exit poll released today by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). The 11-state multilingual exit poll of 16,665 Asian American voters, conducted by AALDEF in collaboration with 60 national and local community groups, is the largest nonpartisan poll of its kind in the nation.
AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung said: “Asian Americans, especially first-time voters, demonstrated strong support for the historic 2008 election of our nation’s first African American president. The AALDEF exit poll reflects the ongoing importance of the Voting Rights Act to promote Asian American voter participation and to increase minority representation at the highest levels of government.”
The 2008 exit poll provides a unique snapshot of the voter preferences of Asian Americans in 39 cities in 11 states with large Asian American populations: New York , New Jersey , Virginia , Maryland , Pennsylvania , Massachusetts , Michigan , Illinois , Nevada , Louisiana , Texas , and Washington , DC. AALDEF has conducted exit polls of Asian American voters in every major election since 1988. In the 2004 Presidential elections, AALDEF polled 10,789 Asian American voters in 8 states.
The six largest Asian ethnic groups polled in 2008 were Chinese (32%), Asian Indian (16%), Korean (14%), Bangladeshi (8%), Vietnamese (7%) and Filipino (5%). Four out of five (79%) of those polled were foreign born. Over one-third (35%) described themselves as limited English proficient, and 21% had no formal U.S. education. Nearly one-third (31%) were first-time voters.
The AALDEF exit poll collected information about the party enrollment, English proficiency and issue preferences of first-time voters, foreign-born voters, women voters, and young voters. A detailed chart can be downloaded here. Selected highlights appear below:
– Asian American voters favored Barack Obama by a wide margin and are registered increasingly as Democrats.
By more than a 3 to 1 margin, Asian Americans favored Barack Obama over John McCain, 76% to 22%, with 2% voting for other candidates. A clear majority (58%) of Asian Americans were registered Democrats, 26% were not enrolled in any political party, and 14% of Asian Americans were registered Republicans.
– First-time voters favored Barack Obama by greater margins.
Among first-time Asian American voters, 82% voted for Barack Obama, 17% voted for John McCain, and 1% voted for other candidates.
– Asian Americans shared common political interests across ethnic lines, with the Economy/Jobs cited as the most important issue in their vote for President.
Regardless of ethnicity, almost all Asian ethnic groups voted as a bloc for the same candidates and identified common reasons for their vote. Economy/Jobs was the top choice for each ethnic group when voters were asked to select the most important issue from the following choices: Civil Rights/Immigrant Rights, Crime in Neighborhoods, Economy/Jobs, Education, Foreign Policy/War in Iraq, Health Care, Terrorism/Security, and Other Factors.
Economy/Jobs was the dominant issue for Asian American voters (30%), followed by Health Care (19%), Foreign Policy/War in Iraq (15%), Education (13%) and Civil Rights/Immigration Rights (11%).
– Language assistance and bilingual ballots are needed to preserve access to the vote.
Although one in five (20%) identified English as their native language, 35% of Asian Americans polled said that they were limited English proficient. A number of poll sites were mandated to provide bilingual ballots and interpreters under the federal Voting Rights Act; other jurisdictions voluntarily provided language assistance. In the 2008 elections, 18% of all respondents preferred to use some form of language assistance to vote.
AALDEF Staff Attorney Glenn Magpantay said: “AALDEF’s poll monitors found that many Asian Americans had to overcome numerous hurdles to exercise their right to vote. Many Asian American voters found their names missing from voter lists, some poll workers were rude and hostile toward new citizen voters, and limited English proficient voters had difficulty accessing interpreters and translated voting materials.”
Based on findings from the 2008 exit poll and AALDEF’s election monitoring efforts over the past decade, AALDEF will be advocating for vigorous enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, including expanded provisions for language assistance under section 203; more voluntary assistance in jurisdictions with growing Asian American populations that are limited English proficient; and the removal of barriers that deter new citizen voters from exercising their right to vote.
The 2008 multilingual exit poll was conducted at 113 poll sites in 12 Asian languages and dialects: Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Tagalog, Khmer, Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, and Gujarati. AALDEF worked with 60 co-sponsoring organizations to mobilize 1,500 attorneys, law students and community volunteers to conduct the multilingual exit poll and to monitor polling places for incidents of voter discrimination.
National Co-Sponsors: Asian Pacific Islander American Vote, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, National Korean American Service and Education Consortium, North American South Asian Bar Association, Organization of Chinese Americans, South Asian Americans Leading Together. Legal Co-Sponsors: AU Washington College of Law, Human Rights Clinic-DC, Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago-IL, Asian American Bar Association of Houston-TX, Asian American Bar Association of New York, Asian American Lawyers Association of MA, Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater DC, Asian Pacific American Bar Association of PA, Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of NJ, Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center-DC Greater Boston Legal Services: Asian Outreach Unit Indian American Bar Association of IL, Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater NY, Michigan Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Muslim Bar Association of New York, South Asian Bar Association of DC, South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey, South Asian Bar Association of New York, South Asian Bar Association of Michigan, U. Penn. School of Law, Public Interest Office Temple U. School of Law, Public Interest Office-PA. Local Co-Sponsors: ACCESS-MI, Asian American LEAD-DC, Asian American Society of Central Virginia, Asian Community Development Corporation of Boston-MA ,Asian Pacific American Agenda Coalition -MA, Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia-PA, Conference for Asian Pacific American Leadership -DC, Chinatown Voter Education Alliance-NY, Chinese American Voters Association-NY, Chinese Progressive Association-MA, Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans of Virginia, Committee of 70-PA, Filipino American Human Services Inc.-NY, Hunter College/CUNY, Asian American Studies Program, Korean American Coalition-DC, Korean American Voters’ Council of NY/NJ, Korean American Resource & Cultural Center-IL, Korean Community Service Center of Greater Washington, DC, Maryland Vietnamese Mutual Association-MD, Mass VOTE-MA, One Lowell-MA, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation-PA, Providence Youth and Student Movement-RI, Sikh Coalition-NY, South Asian Youth Action-NY, U. Maryland Asian American Studies Program, Viet-Vote-MA, Vietnamese American Initiative for Development-MA, Vietnamese American Mutual Association-MD, Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans, LA, YKASEC: Empowering Korean American Communities-NY.
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is a national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF works with Asian American communities across the country to secure human rights for all.
1/3/04 cnn.com
Of 13,660 respondents in exit polls, Asian Americans were 2% of the electorate.
44% voted for Bush and 56% for Kerry. Survey conducted for the Associated Press and television networks by Edison Media Research/Mitofsky International. The margin of error is plus or minus 1 percentage point for overall sample, larger for subgroups.
5/9/02 Washington Times: “GOP finds party a tough sell to minorities,”
Although Asians went by a 55-31 percent margin for the elder George Bush in 1992 and by 48-43 percent for Bob Dole over Bill Clinton in 1996, they reversed party allegiance in 2000, voting 54-41 percent for Mr. Gore over Mr. Bush.
“Republicans are at their nadir with Asians,” Gary South, chief strategist for Democratic Gov. Gray Davis of California, told The Washington Times.
Asians are the second-fastest growing segment of the electorate after Hispanics. Yet, as Mr. South noted, “Democrats now have a 65-35 percent split with [Asian voters], not in registration but in voting behavior. In 1992, they were registered 4-1 Republican. Right now, that constituency is half Democrat and half Republican” in California.
“Gore Did Well Among API Voters in New York” Jan. 12-18, 2001 AsiaWeek.com
http://www.asianweek.com/2001_01_12/news6_gorewoninnewyork.html
Asian American voters in New York City chose Gore for president over Bush by a margin of 3 to 1, according to a survey of 5,000 voters conducted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).
About 78% of the Asian Americans polled voted for Gore, while just 20% voted for Bush. The numbers almost mirrored that of the general population of New Yorkers, where, according to other exit polls, Gore captured 77% and Bush pulled in 19%.
The multi-lingual poll was conducted by AALDEF on election day at 14 different sites in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. All of the sites were located in neighborhoods with high concentrations of Asian Americans.
Among voters polled, 60% were registered Democrats, a 6% increase since the 1996 election. The number of Republicans dropped by six points to 14%; those with no party affiliation remained steady at 24%.
Chinese Americans made up 69% of the voters surveyed. South Asian Americans accounted for 15%, Korean Americans 9%, and Filipino Americans 4%. The remaining 3% included Thai, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Japanese American voters.
Asian-American voters in California voted for Gore over Bush 48% to 47%. Asian- Americans were 6% of the California electorate in 2000, an increase from 4% from 1988 to 1996. In 1988, “Asian/ other” voted for Dukakis over Bush, 52% to 47%. In 1992, “Asian/Other” voted 39% for Clinton, 38% for Bush, and 23% for Perot. In 1996, “Asian/ Other” voted 52% for Clinton, 43% for Dole, 4% for Perot and 1% other. In 2000, “Asian/Other” voted 48% for Gore, 47% for Bush, and 4% for Nader. 11/14/00 San Francisco Chronicle: “68% of State’s Latino Voters Back Gore: Democratic candidate also outpolled Republican Bush among women, blacks, Asians”
The Asian Pacific American Legal Center conducted an exit poll of 5,000 voters — 2,000 of them Asian Americans — in heavily Asian neighborhoods in southern California. The survey
showed Vice President Al Gore received 62.3% of the votes cast by Asian Americans, while Gov. George W. Bush garnered 34.7%.
The poll showed that almost 17% of Asian Republicans across 16 cities in Los Angeles and Orange counties crossed over to choose Gore — a trend first noted in the March primary.
Statewide, the Los Angeles Times exit poll found that Asians voted for Gore in proportions similar to the Los Angeles survey by the legal center. The Times exit poll found that 63% of Asian voters supported Gore while 33% backed Bush. Latinos and blacks voted for Gore by even larger margins, with Latinos going for Gore over Bush, 75% to 23%, and blacks voting 85% to 14%. Whites, who made up nearly three-fourths of the California electorate, favored Bush over Gore 49% to 47%, the Times exit poll found.
In the legal center’s survey, Asian voters identifying themselves as Democrats increased about 12 percentage points — from 36% in 1996 to 48.4% this year. At the same time, Asian voters labeling themselves as Republicans decreased from 40% to 29.7%. The ranks of independents fell 24% in 1996 to 19.5% this year.
The legal center’s study of Asian American voting patterns in the 16 cities was conducted in Chinese,
English, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. It took in 57 precincts in Los Angeles, Alhambra, Artesia, Carson, Cerritos, Garden Grove, Gardena, Long Beach, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Santa Ana, South Pasadena, Torrance and Westminster.
A separate exit poll was conducted in San Francisco, where more than a third of the population is Asian — predominantly Chinese. Gore received 82% of the Chinese American votes to Bush’s 16%, according an exit poll conducted by David Binder Research for the Chinese American Voter Education Committee.
The Chinese vote for Gore surpassed the citywide 75% margin for Gore. There, 41% of the Chinese voters said they knew of the 80-20 Initiative, a new Asian American political action committee that endorsed Gore. The group urged Asian Americans to vote as a bloc for Gore.
In the survey of Los Angeles and Orange counties, 25% of Asian American voters said they were familiar with 80-20.
Asian Americans compose about 6% of California voters.
Above facts from “Asian Americans Lean to Democrats, Poll Says: A group that in the past has scattered its votes on many ballot lines voted heavily for Gore on Tuesday.” 11/10/00 Los Angeles Times
Asian American Politics 
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