The Asian American Vote 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 11 Korean 12 Vietnamese 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% Democrats 27% 14% 57% 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
Crossover Voting Voted for Asian American Democrats Asian American Republicans Not Enrolled in Any Party 96% 13% 73% Barack Obama - D 3% 85% 24% Mitt Romney - R 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 9
Vote for President by English Proficiency Limited English Proficient 23% Romney 76% Obama Read English "Very Well" 19% 78% Nativity Foreign-Born, Naturalized Citizen Born in the U.S. 22% 14% 77% 82% First-Time Voter 16% 82% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 10
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 11
Vote for President by Age 18 to 29 years old Voted for Romney - R Voted for Obama - D 10% 86% 30 to 39 years old 40 to 49 years old 50 to 59 years old 60 to 69 years old 70 and over 16% 26% 26% 27% 23% 82% 73% 72% 72% 76% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 12
Important Factors Influencing the Vote for President All Respondents 60 50 53 40 35 30 27 26 20 10 14 11 7 0 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 13
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 14
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 15
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 16
Immigration Reform and Party Strongly support Oppose Don't know Support Strongly oppose Republican 26% 27% 15% 13% 19% Not enrolled in any party 24% 33% 10% 6% 27% 3% Democratic 41% 32% 6% 18% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 17
Limited English Proficiency by Ethnicity 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 Arabic Gujarati Tagalog 81% 82% 83% 93% 17% 2% 0% 15% 2% 1% 12% 4% 1% 6% 0% 1% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 18
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 19
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* 49% 51% Brian Bilbray 37% 50% DC At Large Eleanor Norton* GA LA 2 MA MD MI 72% N/A 89% N/A 73% N/A 4 Hank Johnson* 57% 74% J. Chris Vaughn 37% 26% 6 Jeff Kazanow 61% 36% Tom Price* 22% 65% 7 Steve Reilly Cedric Richmond* 40% 48% 38% Robert Woodall* 48% 36% 22% 54% 21% 55% Dwayne Bailey 70% 23% 60% 5 Edward Markey* 73% 76% Tom Tierney 9% 24% 7 Michael Capuano* 80% 3% 83% 3% 74% N/A 78% 6% 55% 28% 8 Stephen Lynch* 68% 76% Joe Selvaggi 22% 24% 3 John Sarbanes* 8 Chris Van Hollen* 85% 4% 67% Eric Knowles 64% 28% 71% 23% 63% Ken Timmerman 69% 22% 11 Syed Taj 56% 44% Kerry Bentivolio* 34% 51% 12 John Dingell* 14 Gary Peters* * Winning Candidate 83% 11% 68% Cynthia Kallgren 90% 2% 83% 1% 82% John Hauler 77% 5% N/A 62% 14% N/A 30% 34% 29% 16% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 20
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* 71% 74% Shmuley Boteach 16% 25% 10 Donald Payne Jr.* NV 1 Dina Titus* NY 79% 87% Brian Kelemen 18% 11% 76% 20% 64% Chris Edwards 87% 12% 3 Steve Israel* 87% 58% Steven Labate 7% 42% 5 Gregory Meeks* 83% 90% Allan W. Jennings, Jr. 10% 10% 82% 9% 90% 6% 85% 8% 6 Grace Meng* 73% 68% David Halloran 18% 31% 86% 9% 87% 8% 81% 13% 75% N/A 7 78% N/A Nydia 79% 95% N/A N/A Velázquez* 73% N/A N/A 77% N/A 9 Yvette Clark* 83% 87% Daniel J. Cavanagh 8% 12% 10 Jerrold Nadler* 93% 81% Michael Chan 1% 19% 12 Carolyn Maloney* 14 Joseph Crowley* * Winning Candidate 32% Christopher R. 87% 81% 7% 19% Wight 86% William F. 6% 83% 15% 79% Gibbons, Jr. 10% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 21
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 TX 1 Robert Brady* 88% 85% 2 Chaka Fattah* 74% 89% 9 Al Green* 22 Kesha Rogers 60% John Featherman Robert Mansfield 39% 79% Steve Mueller 51% 8% 15% 16% 9% 36% 75% 25% 57% 30% 32% Pete Olson* 57% 31% 20% 64% 2 Paul O. Hirschbiel Jr. 43% 46% Scott Rigell* 52% 54% VA 8 Jim Moran* 11 * Winning Candidate Gerry Connolly* 71% J. Patrick 15% 65% 71% Murray 29% 31% 75% 23% 76% 61% Chris S. Perkins 19% 36% 77% 21% 2012 Exit Poll Presentation, page 22
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 23
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 24
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 25
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 26
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 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