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Data from the Pew Research Center show that since 1998, about three in ten Asian-American eligible voters have cast ballots in midterm elections, a rate that lags far behind that of whites and blacks. In 2010, voter turnout among Asian Americans was 31%, a rate that trailed blacks at 44%, and whites at 49%. Even among the college-educated, Asian American voters have not matched their white, black and Hispanic peers in turnout rates.
It turns out that the low voter turnout rates may underscore larger issues of voter apathy and language access among the Asian American community.
Asian American constituents are faced with a wall of obstacles before they even cast their ballots, with language barriers at many polling stations keeping people from voting properly.
Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act states that if at least five percent or 10,000 members of the same jurisdiction are limited English proficient, the local state registration office must translate voting materials for the population. But, says Christine Chen, executive director of Asian Pacific Islander American Vote, language assistance services are unavailable in a large majority of these limited English proficient jurisdictions.
As part of its mission to promote civic participation at local, state and national levels, APIA Vote hosts regular training sessions for voter registration and works to mobilize a strong base of bilingual volunteers. These people are desperately needed, but “they haven’t really been reached out to…about doing this work,” Chen said.
What about those who don’t face language barriers? Getting people excited about voting is a challenge for any demographic, and it’s especially apparent within the Asian American community. A striking finding from the Pew report shows that 37% of registered Asian-American non-voters said that they were too busy to vote. Besides conflicting schedules that prevent taking time to vote, the underlying reasons likely go beyond just apathy.
“It’s so much white noise that until you’re forced to make a decision and you can see that there’s some topic or issue that really affects you directly, those types of things aren’t going to make you make a decision sooner,” said Madalene Mielke, founder and principal of the Arum Group LLC, a Democratic political consulting company.
This could be especially true of older generations and recent immigrants whose personal values don’t necessarily embrace voting as a top priority.
“A lot of our voters are coming from countries where the whole idea of a democracy and voting and expressing your opinion isn’t as promoted,” Chen said. “So many people are focused on their livelihood, they’re not really connecting their dots [that] you need to become a U.S. citizen.”
And impressing the importance of voting upon constituents isn’t a one-time campaign. The right communication from volunteers can make or break a person’s decision to vote, especially when many are already jaded about the process.
“If a voter gets a mailer from us or a phone call from us, it only reminds them, ‘Wow, people are paying attention to me — I really should try to vote,” Chen said.
“In general, everyone is less motivated to vote in the primary at this point,” Mielke said. “People are turned off with the present climate of the legislatures in general, that Congress isn’t doing anything. Everyone is having difficulty understanding why it’s so important to vote when they see such acrimony to vote at a federal level.”
Yet another reason why Asian Americans may be disinclined to vote is the lack of Asian American representation in the political system.
“Lawyers need to pass the bar, CPAs need to pass the [CPA Exam] — I almost feel like these representatives need to pass some sort of test to get a full understanding of how certain things work,” said Thomas Chen, manager of business development and mobile strategist at WillowTree Apps.
He compares the disconnect to an investment portfolio, with whites as the majority, or bonds, and minorities in stocks. “Of course I’m going to pay attention to what is going to affect my portfolio the most,” Thomas said. “You can certainly [acknowledge] the smaller percentage, but not at the expense of the larger percentage.”
The problem is one piece of political detachment that entrepreneur JD Chang recognized and channeled into TrendPo, a social media aggregation platform that informs politicians and political organizations about how they relate to audiences.
“If they’re approaching this as this is politics and you should understand and you should do your civic duty to know these issues, then that could be a very tough battle for them,” Chang said.
It’s not just the Asian American community that politicians are struggling to appeal to, but their absence from political discourse is particularly notable. “Even in just general terms, commenting on communities of color, [politicians] forget Asians of color,” she said.
The oversight is linked to one glaring omission in the political sphere: the dearth of Asian representation in politics overall.
“It would be fantastic to have more Asian Americans within the political world not just running for office but being writers or staffers or bloggers or being part of companies,” Chang said.
Seeing people in power who understand the issues most relevant to the community is a key factor in voter engagement, but being a minority at the forefront of politics comes with its own struggles.
“Having inspiring role models helps encourage people to run for office, but at the same time it’s still very much a risk,” Mielke said. “It’s uncommon; you’re always going to be the odd person out.”
That’s not to say that there aren’t countless supporters rallying the Asian American vote, and their work could be what ultimately changes the tides of low voting rates within the community. Mielke praises the efforts of representative such as Mike Honda of Silicon Valley for their commitment to Asian American empowerment in politics. The question now is: how can we make their efforts resonate among the greater Asian American population?
