Watching the AAPI vote in Nevada and Georgia

ANALYSIS 

Watch the AAPI voters in Nevada, Georgia and elsewhere to determine the influence of these politically engaged communities.

If the polls are to be believed (and there is plenty of reasons to doubt their methodology as it relates to the modern voter) the Presidential contest is a virtual tie.

Even though millions of voters have all ready cast their ballots, the bulk of voters will be voting Tuesday, Nov. 5. They enjoy the act of going to a polling place and marking their ballots and then dropping their ballot in the ballot box.

Unfortunately, in some states, especially in the Red states whose legislators have tried to make voting more burdensome and difficult. Expect long lines late into the night. There might even be harassment, typical of bullies, most of whom appear to be Trump supporters. Not only do they harangue or mislead people standing in line, they have also been threatening poll workers.

Regarding the AAPI electorate, from NPR:

"If Latinos are the largest-growing demographic group, Asian Americans are the fastest. And since 2008, they have voted overwhelmingly for Democrats. They could have the biggest impact in Nevada, where they are more than 9% of the eligible-voter population. They were 5% of the electorate in the state in 2020 and went for Biden by a 64%-35% margin.

"They could also be crucial in places like Georgia. The AAPI population in the state has grown by more than 50% since 2010. While only about 3% of eligible voters in Georgia, there were more than 45,000 first-time AAPI voters in the state in 2020. They voted about 58% for Democrats, a margin of more than 7,000 votes in Democrats’ favor — just from first-time AAPI voters, almost the margin that decided the state."

RELATED: Endorsing Kamala Harris

In another article, an NPR analysis reports:

University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock has a rule of thumb that for Democrats to win Georgia: they have to capture 30% of white voters and Black voters have to comprise 30% of the voters who cast ballots. But Emory University political science professor Andra Gillespie says that rule may need a slight update, as Asian Americans and Latinos become a larger share of the electorate.

Judy Zhu is voting in her first presidential election, after casting her first ballot in the 2022 midterms once she became a US citizen. Like many new voters, she has been taking her vote very seriously, watching debates and researching the platforms of the candidates and political parties.

Zhu says she has friends in their community across the political spectrum, from strong Trump or Harris supporters to undecided voters and those who are just plain fed up. For Zhu, the economy, health care and democracy are driving her vote.

“I think I have definitely changed my mind a couple of times before I finally decided who to vote for,” Zhu says. While she did not want to share publicly who she landed on, she did say her and her husband did not vote for the same presidential candidate.

"Desi" is a term Indian Americans use to describe themselves.

Georgia's South Asians

Georgia’s AAPI population grew by 48% between 2012 and 2022, according to the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta. Indian Americans, Korean Americans and Chinese Americans comprise the largest AAPI communities in Georgia.

South Asians are one of the most progressive Asian American communities. A shift  towards the Democrats dates back to 9/11 and the policies and racial animus that followed. A recent Pew Research Center study found that 68 percent of Indian registered voters identify as Democrats or Democratic-leaning.

The rapidly growing AAPI population is made up by a large group of recent immigrants who identify more with their home countries and haven't wholly bought into the umbrella coaition of Asian America, therefore more open to arguments from both parties. The AAPI voter turnout rate in Georgia has lagged behind White and Black voters, but participation is increasing.

But no one can deny the excitement among South Asians over Harris' candidacy. Indian Americans saw the highest voter turnout among Asian Americans in the last two presidential elections, compared with white voters, according to research firm AAPI Data, an organisation that collects data about Asian American communities. In 2020, 71% of Indian Americans that were eligible to vote did, a 9% increase from 2016.

That trend looks set to continue into November, according to Karthick Ramakrishnan, co-founder of AAPI Data, who told the BBC he believes Harris's candidacy could boost South Asian voter turnout to 75% among eligible voters.

“While having the first ever person of South Asian origin as vice-president of the United States was important to many South Asian voters, it’s a much bigger deal to have someone from one’s background in the highest office in the land,” he told the BBC.

As a former refugee who came to the US from Cambodia in 1980, Tha Vin says the language some Republicans, including Trump, are using to describe immigrants is shaping his vote.

Tha Vin says this election felt so important, he gathered his whole family to go to the polls together.

“I’m a gun owner, like I find I want to vote Republican,” says ThaVin, who came to the US from Cambodia in 1980.. “But the rhetoric toward immigrants has been something that has made me not want to vote Republican.”

According to AAJA, the AAPI turnout rate increased by 7% between 2018 and 2022 midterm elections.

"Pinoy" is a term Filipinos use to describe themselves.

Nevada's Filipino voters

In Nevada, the contest is so close it is difficult to conclude which way the state's voters will lean Tuesday. Asian American voters have been targeted by both parties with specific events aimed at this demographic, especially Filipino American, who represent the largest group iamong Asian American communities.

The Asian American population in the Silver State represents nearly 12% of the electorate, and over 109,000 Filipino Americans are eligible voters, solidifying their importance in a state often decided by narrow margins, writes the Asian Journal, a Filipino American publication.

Despite inroads by the Repubican Party,which belatedly began wooing the Asian electorate including a recent rally featuring Trump, a survey by AAPI Data, over two-thirds of Filipino American voters will be casting their ballots for Harris.

Both candidates promise no taxes on tips resonates with the AAPI workers, many of whom work in the hotel and service industry. 

Surveys show Harris’s focus on health care resonates with Filipino Americans in Nevada, many of whom work in healthcare roles, writes the Asian Journal. The Democrats also emphasizes preserving Social Security and enhancing senior care—issues that matter greatly to Filipino American families in multi-generational households and provide care (with no economic benefits) for their elderly relatives.

On the eve of voting day, the Harris campaign released a series of opeds for ethnic publications aimed at various Asian American communities, including the Asian Journal, whose readership is mostly Filpino.

The op-eds build on record-breaking investments by Team Harris-Walz to engage with and mobilize Asian Americans, who make up the nation’s fastest-growing voting bloc and are poised to play a pivotal role in this election.

“There is so much at stake in this election, and Americans are ready to turn the page on the chaos of the past.\," writes Harris. "You deserve a leader who not only sees you, but stands with you.”

In the final stretch of the presidential race, Team Harris-Walz launched waves of English and in-language mailers and fact sheets translated into several Asian languages; print, radio, television, and digital ads; and hosted in-person events across every battleground state aimed at these critical voters.

“In the Filipino community, you get one person, then they tell their whole family. People are filling out their voter cards, and they’re sharing it with all their cousins and their aunties on WhatsApp,” said Assemblywoman Erica Mosca, a Filipino American and senior adviser to the Harris campaign in Nevada as reported by NBC. “When we’re motivated, we will vote.”

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