The Curious Constituent: Asian American vote elusive as election season approaches

Election fever is upon us. The November midterms are almost here. And that means you’re hearing about candidates right and left. You might have campaign workers knocking on your door, and you’re probably getting calls. Plenty of them.

Come election season, a lot is said about minorities as voting blocs. In California, Asian Americans are a group that merits more and more attention. Our state is home to more Asians than any other state – the number of Asian American registered voters has nearly tripled since 1990. And get this: according to one study, more than two-thirds of Asian American citizens are likely voters.

Bottom line: the Asian American vote matters. So which way is this population likely to go this November, and how are parties reaching out to them this year? Eric Chang, Jennifer Chu and Stewart Chen – voters in Oakland – have some thoughts on the matter.

STEWART CHEN: Asian Americans in the last 10 years have become quite active in the political arena. I've seen a lot of candidates running for different offices, and also us voters – we are more unified and there are more registered Asian Americans in the electoral process.

ERIC CHANG: A generation ago, I would say the Asian American electorate is more conservative, socially. Right now, I think they run the gamut. In my generation, of course, I think it's a little more left-leaning.

JENNIFER CHU: I think that there are ways that candidates could improve their outreach to Asian Americans. I think the most important way that they could is by ensuring that their materials are translated into the various languages of the Asian American communities and populations that they're reaching out to. And also having ... there's not necessarily Asian American staff members on their election or campaign staff. At least having staff members and volunteers who are knowledgeable and aware about API issues. And maybe even some that can speak, who are both verbally fluent and also can write in the language.

STEWART CHEN: I believe there is a sense of urgency that we as Asian Americans have to be heard. Our voices are significant. The Alameda County alone has 30% Asian Americans. And 20 years ago, a lot of immigrants, parents or grandparents, are more focused on earning a living. Now, the second-, third-generations are more involved in politics because they want their voices to be heard.

To further develop the portrait of the Asian American electorate, KALW’s election blogger Mitzi Mock dove into the data to find trends in the Asian-American vote.

*     *     *

HANA BABA: So Mitzi, in general what do we know about Asian Americans’ voting behavior? Are they more likely to side with Democrats or Republicans?

MITZI MOCK: Well, in general more Asian Americans identify as Democrats than Republicans. We’re talking about 32% Democrat, compared to about 14% Republican.

BABA: So, could we comfortably say the Dems have this group clinched?

MOCK: No, I wouldn’t say that. Over a third of Asian Americans – about 35%, actually – identify as nonpartisan. That’s higher than the percent that identify as Democrats.

You know, if you want to get a sense of how different the strength of party affiliation is between Asian Americans and other voters, consider this: during the last presidential election 34% of Asian Americans were undecided compared to 8% for all voters.

BABA: That’s a big difference. Do you have a sense for why party affiliation is weaker among Asian Americans?

MOCK: Well, one thing to consider is the fact that about 60% of Asian Americans are foreign-born. That’s the highest rate among ethnic minorities in the U.S. Now, think about the ways we develop our sense of political identification. For most native-born citizens, party-identity is something that comes about when we’re teenagers, it has to do with the family around us, the community around us – the time we’re coming of age. Without that experience, foreign-born voters may not be as quick to develop a strong emotional connection to a political party.

BABA: Right, and I can relate to that. My parents were immigrants, and I am definitely more in the political process than they were. And you as well, right?

MOCK: Same thing. I’m Chinese American, my grandparents were first-generation, and political party is something that me and my cousins talk about all the time, but it wasn’t something that was a big part of the way they thought about their engagement in civic life.

BABA: So, I want to talk about the ways candidates are reaching out to Asian American, but before that, I just want to clarify: are you saying that we can’t really use party affiliation at all to predict how Asian Americans vote?

MOCK: Not really. Remember, in general, more Asian Americans side with the Democratic party. And there are some strong voting trends we can see once we break down Asian Americans into ethnic sub-groups. Actually, based on the data I’ve seen, I think the biggest problem with predicting the behavior of Asian American voters is in trying to over-generalize them as a group.

BABA: So, what are some examples of that?

MOCK: Japanese American and Korean American voters are much more likely to side with the Democratic Party, while Vietnamese Americans are much more likely to side with Republican Party. And Chinese voters are more likely to side with Democrats than Republicans, but they’re just as likely or more so to be nonpartisan.

BABA: So, where did all this data come from?

MOCK: The data I’m referring to comes from a study conducted two years ago by Rutgers University and three University of California professors. It was called the National Asian America Survey, and it’s the most comprehensive survey of Asian American political views that I’ve ever seen and I believe at the time, was ever done.

In the past, it’s been very difficult to get good data on Asian American political behavior. Other election surveys have had challenges getting a large enough sample size, especially one that can capture the differences between Asian American sub-groups. The other problem was that past surveys were done only in English or were biased towards Asian Americans with higher levels of education. I think those are some of the reasons that we haven’t had really good data.

I also think that there’s some good news. The Field Poll got a grant this year from the New America Media Foundation to survey voters in Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese. And again, they were able to see differences between these ethnic subgroups when they broke down the data.

I just spoke with Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo, and he said the biggest difference between Asian American voters comes down to generation. Younger voters have more in common with their age cohort than their ethnic community. They found the same for young Latinos.

BABA: So, what are some ways parties and candidates are reaching out to Asian American voters this year?

MOCK: Well, one of the most obvious examples is Meg Whitman’s website. It’s the only website I’ve seen that’s translated entirely into Chinese. It’s also translated in Spanish.

And the Democratic National Committee party is really looking at Asian Americans as a critical swing vote in California and Nevada. So they recently hired a new director of Asian American and Pacific Islander outreach who will be focused on getting Asian American voters to the polls this November.

Read more of Mitzi Mock’s election-related news on her blog, The Curious Constituent.