Poll: Georgia's Asian American voters decisively cast their ballots for Warnock

Sen. Raphael Warnock

While the final talley for Georgia's US Senator seat was close by a 2% difference, Asian American voters overwhelmingly cast their ballots in favor of incumbent US Senator Raphael Warnock in the runoff election according to exit polls conducted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

Asian American voters’ support for Warnock over football legend Herschel Walker in Georgia's runoff grew even stronger in the month since the Nov. 8 election and the runoff election on Dec. 6. In theNovember 8 General Election, 60.1% voted for the incumbent. For the Dec.  6 runoff, Warnock captured 78% of the Asian American vote.

“The Senate runoff in Georgia was a critical election, not just for the state but also for the entire country. Georgians have given Senate Democrats a 51 to 49 majority that will affect our national policy for the coming years. For Asian American voters in Georgia, health care and specifically abortion access proved to be a critical issue strongly influencing their vote,” said Margaret Fung, executive director of AALDEF.

AALDEF released results Thursday of its nonpartisan, multilingual survey of 337 Asian American voters.

The overwhelming support from Asian American voters may have tilted the final results in Warnock's favor. Among the give Asian American ethnicities polled, Bangladeshi, Asian Indian and Vietnamese were adamant who they preferred. South Asians are the largest Asian group in the state.

Polling was conducted at five key sites for Asian American voters in DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Voters were surveyed in English, as well as 4 Asian languages: Bengali, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Volunteers also monitored for compliance with the language assistance provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act, and to guard against anti-Asian discrimination and intimidation.

AALDEF attorneys and volunteers observed several problems on election day, such as voters being redirected to different poll sites, being sent to incorrect poll sites, and  voters not being provided provisional ballots.

Other results of the exit poll included:

The five largest Asian American national origin groups in the survey supported  Warnock:

• Bangladeshi: 96.3% Warnock, 3.7% Walker

• Asian Indian: 83.3% Warnock, 14.1% Walker

• Vietnamese: 80.0% Warnock, 20.0% Walker

• Korean: 64.8% Warnock, 35.2% Walker

• Chinese: 61.5% Warnock, 38.5% Walker

Warnock's support was strongest among all age groups. Younger voters were stronger in their support of Warnock and his support tapered off only slightly among older voters.

• Asian American voters aged 18-29 voted Warnock 92.0% and Walker 6.7%.

• Asian American voters aged 30-39 voted Warnock 87.5% and Walker 12.5%.

• Asian American voters aged 40-49 voted Warnock 84.9% and Walker 15.1%.

• Asian American voters aged 50-59 voted Warnock 66.1% and Walker 33.9%.

• Asian American voters aged 60-69 voted Warnock 71.9% and Walker 25.0%.

• Asian American voters aged 70 and over voted Warnock 37.5% and Walker 62.5%.

“Asian Americans were nearly unified in their support of Raphael Warnock for Senate and were likely the difference in this extremely close election. Unfortunately, too many Asian American voters were sent to the wrong poll site and were not given provisional ballots,” said Jerry Vattamala, director of AALDEF’s Democracy Program.

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