Issues - Asian American Voters Association

Issues
The term “Asian American” is misleading in its simplicity. Encompassing over 20+ languages and cultural backgrounds, Asian Americans are a very diverse ethnic group, with myriad priorities, voting interests, and concerns. However, existing governmental data does not account for these nuanced perspectives, and thus fails to successfully target Asian voters.

As of 2024, one-third of Asian Americans are considered Limited English Proficient (LEP). Yet only one in every twenty-seven jurisdictions in the US have language translations for at least 1 Asian language. In total, almost half (45%) of all U.S. precincts are missing or have poorly displayed translated materials.

Through “phone banking increased turnout among Asian American communities in Southern California by more than 10 percentage points,” candidates and campaigns continue to ignore Asian voters. In the 2016 election, only 33% of Asian Americans were contacted by a campaign compared to the 46% of white voters, a lack of contact that significantly decreases their chances of voting.
Voter purging policies disproportionately remove Asians from voter rolls. “In the 2016 election alone, AALDEF received 281 complaints from Asian Americans about voting problems, including names missing from voter rolls. Asian Americans have a 1 in 7 chance of showing up on a Crosscheck list.” Additionally, states reject thousands of Asian American applicants when their names don’t match with slightly different spellings on other identification forms, a phenomena particularly prevalent in Asian transliterated names. “Asian Americans were six times more likely than whites to have their voter registrations turned away or delayed because of this practice.” Whether due to clerical errors, reliance on inaccurate data, or suspicion that they have voted in another state, Asian Americans face discriminatory practices in voter registration.
The 2024 election presents a unique opportunity for candidates looking to connect with Asian American voters. The Asian American voter turnout spike in 2020 was crucial to President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Both the Republican and Democratic Parties have spent more than six figures on mobilizing Asian voters, emphasizing that Asian Americans are a coveted bloc in the 2024 election. Unfortunately, campaigns and politicians still struggle to connect, understand, and collaborate with Asian voters.
These issues, rather than a lack of civic interest, are the barriers standing between Asian Americans and the polls. The Asian American Voters Association hopes to tackle these problems by improving access to translation services at local polls, creating an Asian voter database to aid campaigns in reaching our communities and encouraging local and national candidates to utilize the database for their own benefits.