Survey: AANHPI voters more politically aware than popularly portrayed

Democrats and their positions on health care, gun control, the environment and race relations is still overwhelmingly favored by Asian American and Pacific Islander voters despite mainstream media's reports emphasizing divisions among AANHPI communities.

“Asian Americans are part of a diverse community comprising over 50 different ethnicities and 100 different languages, so it is critical that we conduct this survey every two years because often we are either left out of the polling data or considered an afterthought in the numbers that get reported,” said Jiny Kim, Vice President of Policy and Programs at Asian American Advancing Justice – Asian American Justice Center (Advancing Justice – AAJC), one of the organizations who conducted the survey. 

“The Asian American Voter Survey ensures that we know where the Asian American community stands on a whole host of issues, including their overwhelming support for race-conscious admissions/affirmative action policies and support for inclusive teaching of the histories of communities of color in our schools,” Kim continued.

The tendency for AANHPI voters to favor Democrats over Republicans wasn't even close: 44% of Asian American registered voters surveyed think of themselves as Democrat, 19% think of themselves as Republican, and 29% consider themselves Independent. The remainder (“do not think of themselves in terms of political parties,” identify with another party, or said they don’t know), according to the survey done in partnership with AAPIData, APIAVote and MomsRising.org.

One of the reasons AANHPI prefer Democrats, from the White House, Congress and state legislators is tied to the rise in hate crimes and racial incidents against AANHPI.

For example, support for Democratic House candidates is higher among those concerned about hate crimes. Those who say they worry “very often” plan to support Democrats over Republican House candidates by a 3 to 1 margin.

Those findings suggest that the Donald Trump-led GOP have made race relations worse by its anti-immigrant policies and Republicans' perceived support of White grievances.

The bi-aannual report released July 25 measured Asian American sentiment and attitudes on the issues for the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections. 

The survey revealed insights into one of the fastest-growing racial groups in the United States, including their voting plans for House and Senate races in 2022, and various issue priorities such as education, healthcare, gun control, environment, and the state of the economy. In addition to election-related topics, the survey also contains key opinion data on affirmative action, the inclusion of Asian American history and the history of other non-white groups in public school curricula, and attitudes on federal spending.

The survey was conducted between April 19, 2022 and June 19, 2022. The survey included 1,610 registered Asian American voters. 

2022 ASIAN AMERICAN VOTER SURVEY

Among the other survey highlights are:

• More than two-thirds of registered Asian Americans surveyed say they plan to vote, but only about half have been contacted by either of the major parties. 52% of Asian Americans said they had not been contacted at all by the Democratic Party in the past year, and 60% of Asian Americans said they had not been contacted at all by the Republican Party in the past year.

• About half (51%) of Asian American registered voters surveyed say they prefer to cast their ballots by mail or drop-off box, rather than in-person at a polling place.

• Asian American registered voters as a whole were more likely to say they would vote for Democratic candidates compared to Republican candidates in House and Senate elections. 

• Among national origin groups, Indian Americans were the most likely to say they would vote for Democratic candidates. Vietnamese Americans were split (Senate) or leaned toward the Republican candidates (House).

• Asian American respondents ranked health care (88%), jobs and the economy (86%), crime (85%), education (82%), gun control (73%) and the environment (75%) as “extremely important” or “very important” issues for deciding their votes in November. Voting rights and addressing racism were also important issues.

• On addressing issues of health care, gun control, the environment, voting rights, and racism, Asian American respondents said Democrats were doing a better job than Republicans. 

• On addressing economic issues, crime, and foreign-policy, respondents were more split in their assessment of the two parties’ handling of the issues.

• 77% of those surveyed agree the United States should have stricter gun laws, with 61% agreeing “strongly.” A strong majority (59%) also said they “agree somewhat” or “agree strongly” that undocumented immigrants should have an opportunity to eventually become citizens in the United States.

• By a 2-to-1 margin, Asian American registered voters oppose bans on books and bans on lessons about racism in American history by state/local governments or school boards

• 56% of Asian American respondents held a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” impression of Joe Biden compared to 29% who expressed either a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” impression of Donald Trump.

• Television was the most common news source for Asian American respondents (65%) and Facebook (32%) was nearly as common a news source as traditional print newspapers (36%). For some groups, especially Vietnamese Americans (51%), YouTube was regularly consulted as a news source.

• 73% of Asian Americans worry about experiencing hate crimes, harassment and discrimination at least “sometimes” and 24% said they worry about it “very often.”

• Among those who say they worry “very often” about hate crimes, support for Democratic House candidates is higher than support for Republican House candidates by a 3 to 1 margin.

2022 ASIAN AMERICAN VOTER SURVEY

FYI: Read the 2022 AAPI Voter Survey here.

“Asian Americans are among the fastest growing segments of the American electorate, and it is critical that our understanding of these communities is grounded in accurate survey data,” noted Janelle Wong, co-director of AAPI Data.

Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and co-director of AAPI Data added, “Our survey data show remarkable stability over time on issues like environmental protection and gun control, but they also show that more recent anxieties over hate crimes might also sway voters in their candidate choices.”

This year’s Asian American Voter Survey also showed that a significant majority of Asian Americans believed that Congress and the president should pass stronger legislation to reduce the effects of climate change, and that public schools should include lessons on Asian American history and the histories of other non-white groups.

“Asian Americans are a more and more influential voting bloc and lawmakers would be wise to pay attention to our concerns,” said MomsRising Senior Vice President Gloria Pan. 

“Gun safety is especially important to this community, as are federal investments in the kind of care infrastructure President Biden and congressional Democrats are still trying to pass, and moms and families urgently need: paid family and medical leave, child care, and home- and community-based services. The results of this survey provide a roadmap for how to address the issues the Asian American community prioritizes.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.