Press Release

AALDEF EXIT POLL OF 4,200 ASIAN AMERICAN VOTERS SHOWS STRONG SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS

New York…Asian American voters in 11 states and Washington DC largely supported Democratic candidates in the 2014 midterm elections, according to preliminary results of an exit poll released today by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). The multilingual exit poll of over 4,200 Asian American voters was conducted by AALDEF in collaboration with 65 national and local community groups, the largest survey of its kind in the nation.

AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung said, “Asian American voters continued to support Democratic candidates in 2014, but their support has declined since the 2012 presidential election. Given the Republican control of Congress and several state houses, the Asian American community–with its large numbers of voters not enrolled in any party–will be able to assess which candidates and political parties best address their concerns over the next few years.”

The 2014 AALDEF Asian American Exit Poll provides a unique snapshot of the voting patterns of Asian Americans in 11 states with large or fast-growing Asian American populations: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Nevada, and Washington, DC. AALDEF has conducted exit polls of Asian American voters in every major election since 1988. In the 2012 presidential election, AALDEF polled 9,096 Asian American voters in 14 states.

Selected 2014 exit poll highlights appear below:

-The largest Asian ethnic groups polled were Chinese (36%), South Asian (25%), Korean (12%), Vietnamese (12%) and Filipino (5%).

-10% of Asian Americans were first-time voters.

-59% of Asian Americans were registered Democrats, 15% were not enrolled in any political party, and 26% of Asian Americans were registered Republicans.

In selected state races, Asian American voters largely favored Democratic candidates (declared winner in bold):

MASSACHUSETTS – Governor Martha Coakley-D 69%; Charlie Baker-R 28%; Other 3%

GEORGIA – US Senate Michelle Nunn-D 58%; David Perdue-R 42%

LOUISIANA – US Senate Mary Landrieu-D 30%; Bill Cassidy-R 63%; Other 7% (to be decided in runoff election)

NEW JERSEY – US House of Representatives (5 CD-Bergen County) Roy Cho-D 85%; Scott Garrett-R 11%; Other 4%

MARYLAND – Governor Anthony Brown-D 55%; Larry Hogan-R 45%

VIRGINIA – US Senate Mark Warner-D 66%; Ed Gillespie-R 33%; Other 1%

MICHIGAN – Governor Mark Schauer-D 70%; Rick Synder-R 29%; Other 1%

MICHIGAN – US Senate Gary Peters-D 82%; Terri Lynn Land-R 15%; Other 3%

PENNSYLVANIA – Governor Tom Wolf-D 82%; Tom Corbett-R 17%; Other 1%

TEXAS – Governor Wendy Davis-D 48%; Greg Abbott-R 52%

The 2014 multilingual exit poll was conducted at 63 poll sites in 12 languages: Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Khmer, Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati, and English.

Voting Barriers AALDEF also monitored 147 poll sites, covering 373 precincts and election districts, to record voter complaints. Asian American voters faced several barriers at polling places. AALDEF received over 340 complaints from Asian American voters regarding:

-Lack of interpreters and translated voting materials -Names missing in voter lists or other errors in voter names -Requirements to prove U.S. citizenship -Not being given a provisional ballot -Poll workers making hostile remarks to voters or providing incorrect information -Misdirected to wrong poll sites -Voting machine breakdowns and poor ballot design

AALDEF partnered with 65 national and local groups to mobilize 565 volunteer attorneys, law students, college students, and community workers on Election Day.

For more information, contact:
Margaret Fung
212.966.5932 x201
mfung@aaldef.org

Glenn Magpantay
212.966.5932 x206
gmagpantay@aaldef.org