The Asian American Vote and Comprehensive Immigration Reform A Report on the Multilingual Exit Poll from the 2012 Presidential Election A Special Presentation of The
AALDEF Mission and Program AALDEF is a national organization that protects and promotes the legal rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy, and community education. Immigrants Rights Workers Rights - sweatshops, restaurants, construction, Katrina Language Rights - hospitals and courts Educational Equity / Youth Rights Human Trafficking Voting Rights New Jersey Legal Project Housing 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 2
Asian American Election Protection National Election Protection Project and 100 local partnerships Poll Monitoring Compliance - Voting Rights Act and Help America Vote Act Post Election - voter interviews and complaint letters 2012 - attorneys covered 46 poll sites in 6 cities Multilingual Exit Poll 2012 9,096 Asian American voters in 14 states and DC 2010 3,721 Asian American voters in 5 states 2008 16,665 Asian American voters in 11 states and DC 2006 4,726 Asian American voters in 9 states and DC 2004 10,789 Asian American voters in 8 states 2002-3,500 Asian American voters in 4 states 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 3
Percentage of Voters Asian American respondents 100% 9,096 Total Surveyed 31 Chinese 28 South Asian 12 Vietnamese 11 Korean 9 Filipino 9 Other Asian Ethnicities 21 Born in the U.S. 79 Foreign born, naturalized citizen: 10 0-2 years ago 9 3-5 years ago 15 6-10 years ago 45 more than 10 years ago 24 No formal education in US 76 Educated in the U.S., highest level: 1 Elementary school 1 Some high school 12 High school trade school degree 40 College or university degree 22 Advanced degree Profile of Asian American Exit Poll Respondents - 2012 New York New Jersey Massachusetts Pennsylvania Michigan Illinois Texas Nevada Louisiana Georgia Florida California Maryland Virginia District of Columbia 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 4
First Time Voters Ethnicity % Bangladeshi 45% Arab 35% Pakistani 35% Asian Indian 29% Indo-Caribbean 28% All Asian Americans 27% Vietnamese 26% Chinese 23% Filipino 23% Korean 20% NOTE: Japanese Americans, another large Asian ethnic group in the U.S., were surveyed in the exit poll but are excluded from these slides due to a small sample size. 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 5
Party Enrollment 2% 27% 14% 57% Democrats Republicans Not Enrolled Other Party 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 6
Democratic Not Enrolled in a Party Asian American Party Enrollment Other Republican Indo- Caribbean Arab Bangladeshi Pakistani Asian Indian 84% 80% 79% 73% 65% 4% 8% 4% 4% 14% 2% 2% 18% 1% 21% 5% 1% 24% 2% 9% Korean 60% 24% 2% 14% ALL ASIAN AMERICANS 57% 27% 2% 14% Chinese 53% 36% 2% 9% Filipino Vietnamese 26% 52% 35% 18% 2% 4% 37% 26% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 7
Vote for President by Ethnicity Voted for Romney - R Voted for Obama - D Bangladeshi Pakistani Asian Indian Chinese Korean All Asian Americans Filipino 3% 6% 14% 17% 20% 21% 32% 96% 91% 84% 81% 78% 77% 65% Vietnamese 54% 44% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 8
Vote for President by State Voted for Romney - R Voted for Obama - D District of Columbia 2 92 Pennsylvania New York Michigan Massachusetts Nevada New Jersey Virginia Maryland 9 12 11 17 18 21 26 26 89 86 86 82 81 77 72 71 California Georgia Texas 34 36 40 62 61 57 Louisiana 81 16 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 9
Important Factors Influencing the Vote for President Voted for Romney - R Voted for Obama - D 80 70 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 52 26 40 11 31 31 17 7 17 14 11 11 6 0 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 10
Comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for undocumented people Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Chinese 23% 34% 11% 5% 27% Vietnamese 25% 24% 14% 10% 27% Korean 31% 41% 8% 3% 17% ALL ASIAN AMERICANS 34% 31% 9% 5% 21% Asian Indian 38% 26% 9% 8% 19% Indo- Caribbean 44% 33% 6% 4% 13% Bangladeshi 45% 33% 5% 4% 13% Filipino 46% 27% 7% 7% 13% Pakistani 49% 29% 5% 3% 14% Arab 50% 19% 7% 4% 20% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 11
Comprehensive Immigration Reform by State Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Nevada 76% 11% 2% 3% 8% New Jersey 39% 36% 5% 2% 18% Washington, DC 38% 42% 7% 0% 13% Pennsylvania 36% 33% 6% 2% 23% Virginia 36% 31% 8% 6% 19% ALL ASIAN AMERICANS 34% 31% 9% 5% 21% New York 33% 35% 8% 4% 20% Michigan 32% 29% 10% 6% 23% Massachusetts 31% 30% 9% 4% 26% Maryland 30% 37% 11% 7% 15% Texas Georgia 29% 26% 30% 30% 9% 12% 10% 9% 22% 23% California 21% 32% 11% 12% 24% Louisiana 20% 14% 21% 15% 30% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 12
Immigration Reform and Vote for President Strongly Support Oppose Don't Know Support Strongly Oppose 7% Voted for Obama - D 37% 33% 20% 3% Voted for Romney - R 20% 27% 17% 13% 23% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 13
Immigration Reform and Party Strongly support Oppose Don't know Support Strongly oppose Not enrolled in any party 24% 33% 10% 6% 27% Republican 26% 27% 15% 13% 19% 3% Democratic 41% 32% 6% 18% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 14
Vote for U.S. Senate State Democratic Candidate Asian American Vote Overall Vote % Republican Candidate Asian American Vote Overall Vote % CA Dianne Feinstein* 57% 63% Elizabeth Emken 35% 38% DC Michael D. Brown* 71% 80% Nelson Rimensnyder 2% 9% MA Elizabeth Warren* 79% 53% Scott Brown 17% 46% MD Benjamin Cardin* 66% 56% Daniel Bongino 22% 26% MI Debbie Ann Stabenow* 81% 59% Pete Hoekstra 12% 38% NJ Bob Menéndez* 76% 59% Joe Kyrillos 14% 40% NV Shelley Berkley 79% 45% Dean Heller* 17% 46% NY Kirsten Gillibrand* 83% 72% Wendy Long 9% 27% PA Robert Casey* 76% 54% Tom Smith 10% 45% TX Paul Sadler 51% 41% Ted Cruz* 39% 56% VA Timothy M. Kaine* 70% 53% George F. Allen 26% 47% *Winning Candidate 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 15
Vote for U.S. House of Representatives (Part 1 of 3) State Congressional District Democratic Candidate Asian American Vote Overall Vote Republican Candidate Asian American Vote Overall Vote CA 52 Scott Peters* 55% 51% Brian Bilbray 41% 50% DC At Large Eleanor Norton* 80% 89% N/A N/A N/A GA 4 Hank Johnson* 58% 74% J. Chris Vaughn 38% 26% 6 Jeff Kazanow 73% 36% Tom Price* 22% 65% 7 Steve Reilly 49% 38% Robert Woodall* 50% 62% LA 2 Cedric Richmond* 25% 55% Dwayne Bailey 71% 14% 5 Edward Markey* 89% 76% Tom Tierney 11% 24% MA 7 Michael Capuano* 88% 74% N/A N/A N/A 8 Stephen Lynch* 75% 76% Joe Selvaggi 24% 24% MD 3 John Sarbanes* 78% 67% Eric Knowles 20% 30% 8 Chris Van Hollen* 74% 63% Ken Timmerman 24% 34% 11 Syed Taj 68% 44% Kerry Bentivolio* 29% 51% MI 12 John Dingell* 90% 68% Cynthia Kallgren 8% 29% 14 Gary Peters* 97% 82% John Hauler 2% 16% * Winning Candidate 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 16
Vote for U.S. House of Representatives (Part 2 of 3) State NJ Congressional District Democratic Candidate Asian American Vote Overall Vote Republican Candidate Asian American Vote Overall Vote 9 Bill Pascrell* 81% 74% Shmuley Boteach 18% 25% 10 Donald Payne Jr.* 85% 87% Brian Kelemen 15% 11% NV 1 Dina Titus* 81% 64% Chris Edwards 17% 32% 3 Steve Israel* 91% 58% Steven Labate 7% 42% 5 Gregory Meeks* 89% 90% Allan W. Jennings, Jr. 10% 10% 6 Grace Meng* 88% 68% Dan Halloran 11% 31% NY 7 Nydia Velázquez* 76% 95% N/A N/A N/A 9 Yvette Clark* 89% 87% Daniel J. Cavanagh 8% 12% 10 Jerrold Nadler* 98% 81% Michael Chan 1% 19% 12 Carolyn Maloney* 87% 81% Christopher R. Wight 7% 19% 14 Joseph Crowley* 91% 83% William F. Gibbons, Jr. 8% 15% * Winning Candidate 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 17
Vote for U.S. House of Representatives (Part 3 of 3) State Congressional District Democratic Candidate Asian American Vote Overall Vote Republican Candidate Asian American Vote Overall Vote PA 1 Robert Brady* 92% 85% 2 Chaka Fattah* 80% 89% John Featherman Robert Mansfield 8% 15% 17% 9% TX 9 Al Green* 49% 79% Steve Mueller 44% 20% 22 Kesha Rogers 62% 32% Pete Olson* 34% 64% 2 Paul O. Hirschbiel Jr. 44% 46% Scott Rigell* 53% 54% VA 7 Wayne Powell 56% 41% Eric Cantor* 31% 59% 8 Jim Moran* 77% 65% J. Patrick Murray 20% 31% 11 Gerry Connolly* 77% 61% Chris S. Perkins 22% 36% * Winning Candidate 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 18
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for Senate
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for Senate Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know California Voted for Dianne Feinstein (Dem)* 33% 37% 5% 4% 21% Maryland Voted for Benjamin Cardin (Dem)* 37% 35% 8% 4% 16% *Winning Candidate 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 20
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for Senate Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Massachusetts Voted for Elizabeth Warren (Dem)* 35% 31% 8% 2% 24% Michigan Voted for Debbie Stabenow (Dem)* 33% 31% 10% 4% 22% *Winning Candidate 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 21
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for Senate Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know New Jersey Voted for Bob Menendez (Dem)* 38% 42% 5% 14% Nevada Voted for Dean Heller (Rep)* 41% 27% 8% 8% 16% *Winning Candidate 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 22
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for Senate Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know New York Voted for Kirsten Gillibrand (Dem)* 35% 35% 7% 4% 19% Pennsylvania Voted for Bob Casey, Jr. (Dem)* 40% 34% 4% 21% *Winning Candidate 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 23
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for Senate Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Texas Voted for Ted Cruz (Rep)* 20% 30% 12% 15% 23% Virginia Voted for Tim Kaine (Dem)* 40% 32% 6% 4% 18% *Winning Candidate 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 24
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know California District 52 Voted for Scott Peters (Dem)* 36% 37% 5% 3% 19% Georgia Voted for Hank Johnson (Dem)* 30% District 4 37% 12% 3% 18% District 6 Voted for Tom Price (Rep)* 27% 42% 5% 26% District 7 Voted for Robert Woodall (Rep)* 40% 30% 8% 2% 20% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 26
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Louisiana District 2 Voted for Cedric Richmond (Dem)* 27% 22% 13% 9% 29% Maryland District 3 Voted for John Sarbanes (Dem)* 28% 44% 9% 4% 15% Voted for Chris Van Hollen (Dem)* 45% District 8 24% 10% 4% 17% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 27
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Massachusetts District 5 Voted for Edward Markey (Dem)* 34% 30% 4% 32% District 7 Voted for Michael Capuano (Dem)* 39% 30% 10% 3% 18% District 8 Voted for Stephen Lynch (Dem)* 27% 32% 2% 2% 37% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 28
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Michigan District 11 Voted for Kerry Bentivolio (Rep)* 34% 6% 20% 20% 20% District 12 Voted for John Dingell (Dem)* 37% 27% 5% 6% 25% District 14 Voted for Gary Peters (Dem)* 34% 39% 2% 8% 17% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 29
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House New Jersey District 9 Voted for Bill Pascrell (Dem)* 32% 42% 7% 1% 18% District 10 Voted for Donald Payne Jr. (Dem)* 52% 37% 2% 2% 7% Nevada District 1 Voted for Dina Titus (Dem)* 85% 8% 1% 2% 4% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 30
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know New York District 3 Voted for Steve Israel (Dem)* 38% 31% 8% 4% 19% District 5 Voted for Gregory Meeks (Dem)* 54% 31% 2% 3% 10% District 6 Voted for Grace Meng (Dem)* 37% 34% 7% 3% 19% District 7 Voted for Nydia Velázquez (Dem)* 21% 40% 10% 4% 25% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 31
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know New York Voted for Yvette Clark (Dem)* 52% District 9 26% 2% 6% 13% District 10 Voted for Jerrold Nadler (Dem)* 45% 31% 4% 4% 16% District 12 Voted for Carolyn Maloney (Dem)* 36% 37% 6% 21% District 14 Voted for Joseph Crowley (Dem)* 39% 38% 5% 3% 15% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 32
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Pennsylvania District 1 Voted for Robert Brady (Dem)* 40% District 2 29% 3% 3% 27% Voted for Chaka Fattah (Dem)* 44% 36% 2% 18% Texas District 9 Voted for Al Green (Dem)* 33% 35% 8% 6% 18% District 22 Voted for Pete Olson (Rep)* 25% 31% 10% 12% 22% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 33
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Virginia District 2 Voted for Scott Rigell (Rep)* 50% 25% 8% 8% 9% District 7 Voted for Eric Cantor (Rep)* 13% 27% 10% 15% 35% District 8 Voted for Jim Moran (Dem)* 41% 37% 4% 3% 14% Voted for Gerry Connolly (Dem)* 42% District 11 30% 3% 7% 18% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 34
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Vote for House Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Washington, D.C. At Large Voted for Eleanor Norton (Dem)* 44% 41% 3% 12% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 35
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and English Proficiency Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Reads English "Very Well" 36% 31% 8% 6% 19% Limited English Proficient 29% 32% 10% 5% 24% Comprehensive Immigration Reform and First-Time Vote Has Voted Before 32% 32% 9% 6% 21% First Time Voter 34% 31% 8% 5% 22% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 36
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Citizenship/Naturalization Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know When did you become a citizen? 0-2 years ago 36% 32% 9% 5% 18% 3-5 years ago 38% 31% 6% 6% 19% 6-10 years ago 37% 28% 10% 8% 17% More than 10 years ago 31% 31% 10% 6% 22% Born in the U.S. 33% 36% 6% 3% 22% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 37
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Gender Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know Female 30% 31% 10% 5% 24% Male 36% 33% 8% 6% 17% Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Support for Same Sex Marriage Supports Same Sex Marriage 38% 36% 5% 3% 16% Oppose Same Sex Marriage 32% 29% 12% 8% 19% Don't Know 27% 27% 6% 3% 37% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 38
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Education Levels Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know No Formal Education in the U.S. 33% 31% 10% 4% 22% Elementary School 37% 27% 10% 3% 23% Some High School 22% 37% 8% 7% 26% Trade School 23% 27% 15% 13% 22% High School 37% 29% 7% 6% 21% College or University 35% 31% 8% 5% 21% Graduate School 33% 32% 9% 7% 19% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 39
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Age Strongly Support Support Oppose Strongly Oppose Don't Know 70 and over 33% 31% 11% 4% 21% 60 to 69 years old 34% 30% 11% 6% 19% 50 to 59 years old 34% 28% 11% 7% 20% 40 to 49 years old 34% 30% 9% 7% 20% 30 to 39 years old 34% 33% 7% 6% 20% 18 to 29 years old 31% 37% 6% 3% 23% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 40
Limited English Proficiency by Native Language Very Well Moderate Not Well Not at All Korean 33% 43% 21% 3% Vietnamese 41% 29% 24% 6% Chinese 45% 25% 20% 10% Bengali 55% 41% 3% 1% ALL ASIAN AMERICANS 63% 21% 12% 4% Punjabi 75% 14% 4% 7% Hindi 78% 15% 6% 1% Urdu 81% 17% 2% Arabic 82% 15% 2% 1% Gujarati 83% 12% 4% 1% Tagalog 93% 6% 1% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 41
Main source of news about politics and community issues Television Internet Newspaper Radio Other 4% All Asian Americans 46% 29% 16% 5% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 42
Main source of news about politics and community issues Ethnic media in Asian language Ethnic media in English Mainstream English language media Korean 46% 13% 41% Vietnamese 41% 17% 42% Chinese 41% 13% 46% Bangladeshi 37% 23% 40% ALL ASIAN AMERICANS 30% 18% 52% Pakistani 22% 22% 56% Arab 10% 38% 52% Asian Indian 9% 25% 66% Filipino 6% 20% 74% Indo-Caribbean 1% 17% 82% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 43
Voting Problems 249 were required to prove their U.S. citizenship 307 complained that their names were missing or had errors in the list of voters at poll sites 215 had to vote by provisional ballot 165 voters complained that poll workers did not know what to do 136 voters complained that poll workers were rude or hostile 183 voters complained that no interpreters or translations were available then they needed the help 105 were directed to the wrong poll site or voting machine/table within a site 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 44
Next Steps U.S. Supreme Court - Challenge to Enforcement Provisions (Section 5) of Voting Rights Act (Shelby v. Holder) U.S. Supreme Court - Challenge to Proof of Citizenship Requirements (Gonzalez v. Arizona) Enforcement of Language Assistance Provisions (Section 203/208) of Voting Rights Act for: New York for assistance in Bengali Michigan for assistance in Bengali New Jersey for assistance in Korean Louisiana for assistance in Vietnamese Enforcement of State Election Law and Voting Rights Act for: Pennsylvania regarding voter photo Identification (Applewhite v. Pennsylvania) Virginia regarding voter discrimination against Korean American voters 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 45
Thanks to our co-sponsors! National Co-Sponsors Alliance of South Asian American Labor Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance APIAVote Common Cause Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law National Asian Pacific American Bar Association National Coalition of Asian Pacific American Community Development National Korean American Service & Education Consortium National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance North American South Asian Bar Association OCA (formerly the Organization of Chinese Americans) South Asian Americans Leading Together Legal Co-Sponsors Asian American Bar Association of Houston Asian American Bar Association of New York Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts Asian American Legal Advocacy Center, Inc. of Georgia Asian Bar Association of Las Vegas NV Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, DC Area Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania Asian Pacific American Bar Association of South Florida Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of NJ Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center DC Filipino American Legal Defense & Education Fund, Inc. NY Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association Greater Boston Legal Services: Asian Outreach Unit Korean American Bar Association of the Greater Washington DC Area Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater NY Louisiana Asian Pacific American Bar Association Muslim American Bar Association of New York Pace Law School, Public Interest Law Center NY South Asian Bar Association of New York South Asian Bar Association of Washington, DC Suffolk University Law School, Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service University of Pennsylvania School of Law, Public Interest Office Local Co-Sponsors ACCESS MI Asian American Society of Central Virginia Boat People SOS Delaware Valley PA CAAAV NY Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia PA Center for Pan Asian Community Services GA Chhaya CDC - NY Chinese-American Planning Council NY Chinese Community Federation of Atlanta GA Chinese Progressive Association MA Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans of Virginia East Coast Asian American Student Union Gay Asian and Pacific Islander Men of New York Hunter College/CUNY, Asian American Studies Program NY Korean American Civic Empowerment of NY/NJ Korean American Resource and Cultural Center - IL MinKwon Center for Community Action NY NANAY FL Pace University, ACE House NY Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation PA Princeton University, Asian American Students Association NJ Q-WAVE NY South Asian Lesbian & Gay Association of New York City University of California San Diego, Lambda Phi Epsilon University of Maryland, College Park, Asian American Studies Program University of Massachusetts Boston, Asian American Studies Program Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans and Asian Pacific American Law Student Association chapters across the country.
The Asian American Vote and Comprehensive Immigration Reform A Report on the Multilingual Exit Poll from the 2012 Presidential Election For more information, contact: AALDEF 99 Hudson Street, 12F New York, NY 10013 Phone: 212.966.5932 Fax: 212.966.4303 Email: info@aaldef.org Website: www.aaldef.org AALDEF 2013