Press Release

Findings Illuminate Asian American Voter Priorities for 2008 Elections, Political Party Registration, and Need for Compliance with Voter Language Assistance

Today, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) released detailed findings from its multilingual exit poll of hundreds of Asian American voters in New York during the November 2006 midterm elections. AALDEF, a 33-year-old civil rights organization, polled more than 4,700 Asian American voters in 23 cities and in nine states on Election Day, the largest nonpartisan survey of its kind. In New York, AALDEF surveyed a total of 2,386 Asian American voters. Respondents were surveyed in Flushing, Chinatown, Floral Park, Jackson Heights, Kensington, Elmhurst, Jamaica, Sunnyside, Midwood, and Richmond Hill.

AALDEF Voting Rights Public Education Coordinator Brian Redondo and Staff Attorney Glenn Magpantay presented detailed findings from the 2006 New York exit poll with comparative information in the following areas:

• Voter priorities for the 2008
• Elections
• Party enrollment and voting history
• Vote for State Attorney General
• Ethnicity and national origin
• Opinions about immigration reform
• Citizenship tenure (duration)
• English proficiency levels
• Language access needs by ethnicity

AALDEF’s multilingual exit polls reveal vital information about Asian American voting patterns that is often overlooked in mainstream voter surveys. AALDEF has conducted exit polls of Asian American voters in every major election since 1988. Nearly 11,000 Asian American voters in eight states and 3,000 in four states were surveyed in the 2004 and 2002 exit polls, respectively. More than 30 community groups and organizations joined AALDEF to mobilize more than 600 attorneys, law students, and volunteers to conduct the exit poll and to safeguard the voting rights of Asian Americans.

Co-sponsors of the May 17 presentation include the Asian American Bar Association of New York, Asian Pacific American Voters Alliance, Chinese American Voter Association, Filipino American Human Services, Inc., Korean American Voters Council of NY/NJ, Korean American League for Civic Action, The Sikh Coalition, Legal Access Network for South Asians, South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow, South Asian Youth Action!, YKASECEmpowering the Korean American Community.

The Asian American Vote in New York

On Election Day, November 7, 2006, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), with the help of several co-sponsoring organizations and more than 600 attorneys, law students, and volunteers, conducted a nonpartisan, multilingual exit poll of over 4,700 Asian American voters. The questionnaire was available in English and nine Asian languages. Voters were surveyed in 23 cities across nine states New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Washingtonas well as Washington, D.C.

AALDEF surveyed a total of 2,386 Asian American voters in New York. Respondents were surveyed in Flushing, Chinatown, Floral Park, Jackson Heights, Kensington, Elmhurst, Jamaica, Sunnyside, Midwood, and Richmond Hill. Highlights of the findings include:

Profile of respondents.

The five largest ethnic groups surveyed in New York were Chinese (46%), Asian Indian (14%), Korean (13%), Bangladeshi (8%), and Pakistani (7%). Eighty-nine percent (89%) were foreign-born citizens. Two out of five (40%) respondents had either no formal U.S. education or less than a high school education. Twelve percent (12%) were first-time voters.

Economy/Jobs was the most important issue Asian Americans identified for 2008 Presidential candidates to address.

The three most important issues for 2008 presidential candidates to address were: Economy/Jobs (27%), Health Care (20%), and War in Iraq (15%).

The majority of Asian Americans voted for Democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo for State Attorney General.

Four out of five (82%) Asian American voters supported Democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo for State Attorney General. Fourteen percent (14%) voted for Republican candidate Jeanine Pirro, and four percent (4%) voted for other candidates. Among the total electorate, Cuomo won 58% of the vote, while Pirro won 40%.

Most Asian Americans were either registered Democrats or not enrolled in any political party.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of New York Asian Americans were registered Democrats, and 22% were not enrolled in any political party. In contrast, 10% were registered Republicans. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Chinese American voters were registered Democrats, 11% were Republicans, and 29% were not enrolled in any political party. Three out of four (75%) Indian American voters were registered Democrats, 8% were Republicans, and 15% were not enrolled in any party. Nearly three quarters (72%) of all Korean American voters were registered Democrats, 9% were Republicans, and 16% were not enrolled in any political party.

Language assistance and translated ballots are needed to preserve access to the vote.

Seventy-six percent (76%) of Korean American and thirty-eight percent (38%) of Bangladeshi American voters expressed that they were limited English proficient. Sixty-one percent (61%) of Chinese American voters also expressed some difficulty with reading English. In addition, 43% of Pakistani American voters said that they brought an interpreter to help them with the voting process. Only 10% of all respondents identified English as their native language. Fifty-one percent (51%) of all respondents used interpreters to vote, and 41% used translated written materials.

Asian Americans supported legalization of undocumented immigrants and reducing immigration backlogs, while they opposed criminalizing the undocumented.

Of those who gave an opinion, 74% of respondents said they favored creating a way for undocumented immigrants to legalize their status. Additionally, 89% of respondents said they favored reducing the amount of time the government takes to process paperwork for immigrants waiting to enter the country. Three quarters (75%) of respondents also said they opposed making being undocumented a crime.

Many Asian Americans have been affected by anti-immigrant sentiment.

Twenty-seven percent (27%) of respondents said they had been affected by anti-immigrant sentiment in at least one of the following locations: at work, at school, or in a public location. Of those, half (50%) said they had been affected by anti-immigrant sentiment in public locations.

Asian American voters encountered unlawful ID requirements.

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires that only certain first-time voters provide identification to vote. Yet 83% of those asked to show identification in order to vote were not required to do so under this federal law.

AALDEF Exit Polls

AALDEF has conducted exit polls of Asian American voters in every major election since 1988. Nearly 11,000 Asian American voters in eight states (NY, NJ, MA, MI, IL, PA, RI, VA) were surveyed in AALDEF’s 2004 exit poll. Over 3,000 Asian American voters in four states (NY, NJ, MA, MI) were surveyed in 2002, and over 5,000 Asian New Yorkers were surveyed in 2000.

National Co-Sponsors of the Asian American Exit Poll 2006:

Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium
Organization of Chinese Americans
People For the American Way Foundation
South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Local Co-Sponsors of the Asian American Exit Poll 2006:

Asian American Bar Association of New York
Asian American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley
Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts
Asian Bar Association of Washington
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, DC Area
Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey
Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center DC
Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia
Chinatown Voter Education Alliance NY
Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans of Virginia
Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership DC
Filipino American Human Services, Inc. NY
Greater Boston Legal Services, Asian Outreach Unit
Korean American League for Civic Action NY
Korean American Resource & Cultural Center IL
Korean American Voters Council of NY & NJ
ONE Lowell MA
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation
YKASECEmpowering the Korean American Community NY
The Sikh Coalition NY
South Asian Youth Action! NY
Vietnamese American Initiative for Development MA
and
Asian Pacific American Law Students Association chapters across the country.