Survey: AANHPI adults worried about democracy

Democracy is in trouble and that should worry the United States.

About 7 in 10 Asian American and Pacific Islanders in the believe the US is headed in the wrong direction and only about 1 in 10 believe democracy is working extremely or very well, according to a survey by  AAPI Data/AP-NORC, a project of The Associated Press and AAPI Data.

“The survey sheds important light on Asian American and Pacific Islander views on democracy and the electoral process,” says Karthick Ramakrishnan, director of AAPI Data and a professor of public policy.

As the US approaches the first presidential primaries and caucuses early next year, the new survey finds two-thirds of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) adults believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. 

        FYI: Read the entire report.

The poll results raises the question: Who is to blame for weakening democracy?

Even though the majority of the respondents were Democrats, about half disapprove of President Biden and the GOP's attacks on the government, courts and schools have helped create a lack of trust in major institutions. 

“With the data we can disentangle where confidence in government institutions is falling short - only 17% are confident in their state government, but it dips even further when asked about federal institutions - about one in ten are confident in the Supreme Court and the executive branch, while just 4% feel the same about Congress” says Jennifer Benz, deputy director of The AP-NORC Center.

Cassie Villasin, a product manager in Washington, told the Associated Press that she believed the country has gotten worse in recent years but said “that doesn’t necessarily mean it was all Joe Biden’s fault. I think that it was already going downhill prior to his election.” Villasin said she approved of Biden generally, citing issues like his handling of student loan debt.

AANHPI communities’ sense of pessimism is less pronounced than the general population, where 75% believe the US is heading in the wrong direction and President Biden’s approval is at 41%. 

When ccompared to the general population, AANHPI adults give similar marks to both parties on handling the economy and handling immigration. Fifty-two percent of AANHPI adults identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared to 28% who identify or lean toward the Republican Party.

“In addition to views on the President and the major parties, we have critical and timely information about concerns about free speech, misinformation, and the integrity of the electoral process,” says Ramakrishnan.

The survey found that AANHPI adults are aware of the attempts to confuse and anger the AANHPI communities through misinformation and outright lies. Eighty-three percent are very concerned about misinformation in the US election surpassing concerns about voter suppression, voter fraud, and free speech limitations. 

Generational differences within AAPI communities are pronounced, particularly in matters of political trust and priorities for who should shape the country’s laws and policies. AAPI adults under 30 are more skeptical of both Republicans and Democrats on the economy than those aged 60 and older. Thirty-eight percent of AAPI adults under 30 have no trust in either party, compared to 19% of those aged 60 and older.

In terms of governance preferences, about half oppose having a president who bends rules to get things done, or state legislatures able to overturn the results of a presidential election. A similar share favor having experts, not politicians, make decisions about what they think is best for the country (58%), while about half support military leaders refusing unconstitutional orders (47%).

Neither the Democrats or Republicans fare well with the respondents. AAPI adults are generally not optimistic about the future of the Democratic (28%) or Republican (15%) parties.

Trust in the political parties among AANHPI communities remains on par with the rest of the United States, generally low, but varied across issues, with 3 in 10 trusting Republicans on the economy, while Democrats are trusted more on climate change (50%) and student debt (44%).

"The survey reveals Asian American and Pacific Islander communities’ concerns about political parties and our country’s institutions to effectively address major issues,” says Benz.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.