Press Release
AALDEF releases Asian American Exit Poll results for 2023 elections
Asian American voters broadly supported Democratic candidates, legal abortion, and protection against transgender discrimination
GA | MA | MN | NJ | NY | PA | VA
New York City — Today, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) released the results of its poll monitoring and nonpartisan, multilingual exit poll of over 1400 Asian American voters in the 2023 elections. Asian American voters in the poll tended to vote for Democratic candidates and expressed strong support for access to legal abortion (64.5%) and laws to protect transgender people from discrimination (also 64.5%).
AALDEF volunteers administered the survey in 11 Asian languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Khmer, Korean, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
“Asian American political participation increases with each election. Our hallmark project, the Asian American Exit Poll, highlights the issues that are most significant to our communities across the country. At a time when political polarization is high in our country, it is critical for Asian Americans to have their voices heard in the electoral process,” said Margaret Fung, executive director of AALDEF.
Over 140 volunteers joined AALDEF on Tuesday to monitor polls and survey Asian American voters in 7 states (Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia). Volunteers also monitored poll sites for compliance with the Voting Rights Act, including the language assistance provisions, as well as the Help America Vote Act, and were on high alert to guard against anti-Asian discrimination, voter intimidation, and barriers to language access.
"We saw strong support for Democratic candidates among the Asian American voters we polled. Even races in Asian American majority districts where both the Democratic and Republican candidates were Asian, as in the New York City Council races in Flushing, Queens (District 20) and Sunset Park, Brooklyn (District 43), the Democratic candidates won handily," said Jerry Vattamala, director of AALDEF's Democracy Program. "Sunset Park is a newly formed district and a clear example of the potential of redistricting to shift electoral power."
On Tuesday, Mr. Vattamala was monitoring election sites in Morrow, Georgia where a witness reported that Councilwoman Dorothy Dean allegedly pushed a supporter of Councilwoman Van T. Tran, a Vietnamese American candidate for mayor. The victim was taken to the hospital by an ambulance and has been identified as the boyfriend of Tran. AALDEF reported the incident to the Department of Justice. In July, Dean was widely criticized for calling Tran “un-American” for her proposal to provide election materials in Spanish and Vietnamese to voters in the Atlanta suburb where Asians are nearly 30% and Hispanics are over 15% of the population.
AALDEF attorneys and volunteers reported several voting issues, including the following:
- Several jurisdictions failed to provide translated election materials and oral language assistance as required by state law or by section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, including in Dorchester, Lowell, and Malden, MA; Philadelphia, PA; Ramsey County, MN; and Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, NY.
- Poll workers incorrectly required voters to provide identification or proof of citizenship.
- Voters were turned away without being able to cast a ballot.
- Voters were redirected to incorrect poll sites.
- Voters were not permitted to cast even a provisional ballot.
“Language access is crucial,” said Susana Lorenzo-Giguere, assistant director of AALDEF’s Democracy Program. “Cities and counties must meet the language needs of the Asian American voters they serve. Compliance with the law is a necessary step toward equal access to the ballot.”
These are many of the same issues AALDEF observed in last year’s midterm elections, which AALDEF delineated in its 2022 Access to Democracy Report here.
2023 ASIAN AMERICAN EXIT POLL RESULTS
Multi-State
Biden Approval Rating: Approve (35.4%), Disapprove (42.1%), Don’t Know (22.5%)
Support for Access to Legal Abortion: Support (64.5%), Oppose (19.8%), Don't Know (15.7%)
Support for Laws to Protect Transgender People from Discrimination: Support (64.5%), Oppose (16.8%), Don't Know (18.7%)
Victim of Anti-Asian Harassment or Violence in the Past Two Years: Yes (19.0%), No (81.0%)
Boston, Massachusetts
At-Large City Council Top 4: Henry Santana (28.2%), Ruthzee Louijeune (24.7%), Julia Mejia (22.4%), Erin Murphy (7.1%)
Top 3 Issues: Health Care (42.0%), Education (32.0%), Public Safety (32.0%)
Biden Approval Rating: Approve (29.8%), Disapprove (23.9%), Don’t Know (46.4%)
Support for Access to Legal Abortion: Support (51.8%), Oppose (18.1%), Don't Know (30.1%)
Support for Laws to Protect Transgender People from Discrimination: Support (55.0%), Oppose (15.1%), Don't Know (30.0%)
Support for 2024 Presidential Candidate: Joe Biden (30.5%), Donald Trump (7.3%), Other (17.1%), Don’t Know (45.1%)
Victim of Anti-Asian Harassment or Violence in the Past Two Years: Yes (24.7%), No (75.3%)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
At-Large City Council Top 5: Rue Landau (D) (17.0%), Nina Ahmad (D) (17.0%) Kendra Brooks (WFP) (16.3%), Nicholas O’Rourke (WFP) (14.4%), Isaiah Thomas (D) (11.1%)
Top 4 Issues: Health Care (40.8%), Economy/Jobs (39.5%), Immigration/Refugees (28.9%) Public Safety (28.9%)
Biden Approval Rating: Approve (47.3%), Disapprove (32.4%), Don’t Know (20.3%)
Support for Access to Legal Abortion: Support (78.6%), Oppose (7.1%), Don't Know (14.3%)
Support for Laws to Protect Transgender People from Discrimination: Support (77.1%), Oppose (8.6%), Don't Know (14.3%)
Support for 2024 Presidential Candidate: Joe Biden (46.5%), Donald Trump (18.3%), Other (12.7%), Don’t Know (22.5%)
Victim of Anti-Asian Harassment or Violence in the Past Two Years: Yes (23.2%), No (76.8%)
New Jersey
State Assembly: Democratic Candidate (65.0%), Republican Candidate (24.8%), Other Candidate (6.8%), Did Not Vote (3.4%)
State Senate: Democratic Candidate (63.1%), Republican Candidate (24.6%), Other Candidate (5.7%), Did Not Vote (6.6%)
Top 3 Issues: Education (43.9%), Economy/Jobs (31.7%), Taxes (30.2%)
Biden Approval Rating: Approve (34.8%), Disapprove (43.7%), Don’t Know (21.5%)
Support for Access to Legal Abortion: Support (55.4%), Oppose (26.9%), Don't Know (17.7%)
Support for Laws to Protect Transgender People from Discrimination: Support (61.2%), Oppose (20.1%), Don't Know (18.7%)
Support for 2024 Presidential Candidate: Joe Biden (22.6%), Donald Trump (21.1%), Other (25.6%), Don’t Know (30.8%)
Victim of Anti-Asian Harassment or Violence in the Past Two Years: Yes (13.7%), No (86.3%)
New York City, New York
City Council: Democratic Candidate (65.6%), Republican Candidate (27.0%), Other Candidate (5.3%), Did Not Vote (2.1%)
Top 3 Issues: Education (39.2%), Public Safety (34.4%), Health Care (33.2%)
Biden Approval Rating: Approve (30.8%), Disapprove (45.9%), Don’t Know (23.3%)
Support for Access to Legal Abortion: Support (67.7%), Oppose (17.9%), Don't Know (14.4%)
Support for Laws to Protect Transgender People from Discrimination: Support (65.7%), Oppose (15.8%), Don't Know (18.6%)
Support for 2024 Presidential Candidate: Joe Biden (31.3%), Donald Trump (17.7%), Other (23.1%), Don’t Know (27.9%)
Victim of Anti-Asian Harassment or Violence in the Past Two Years: Yes (22.8%), No (77.2%)
New York City Council District 43 - Sunset Park (newly drawn Asian majority district in Brooklyn)
City Council: Democratic Candidate (56.3%), Republican Candidate (35.9%), Other Candidate (6.3%), Did Not Vote (1.6%)
Top 3 Issues: Education (49.3%), Public Safety (34.8%), Health Care (30.4%)
Biden Approval Rating: Approve (15.2%), Disapprove (62.1%), Don’t Know (22.7%)
Support for Access to Legal Abortion: Support (69.7%), Oppose (9.1%), Don't Know (21.2%)
Support for Laws to Protect Transgender People from Discrimination: Support (64.6%), Oppose (10.8%), Don't Know (24.6%)
New York City Council District 20 – Flushing
City Council: Democratic Candidate (64.2%), Republican Candidate (30.9%), Other Candidate (4.9%), Did Not Vote (4.9%)
Top 3 Issues: Public Safety (32.8%), Health Care (32.1%), Education (27.7%)
Biden Approval Rating: Approve (24.2%), Disapprove (46.2%), Don’t Know (29.5%)
Support for Access to Legal Abortion: Support (70.8%), Oppose (13.8%), Don't Know (15.4%)
Support for Laws to Protect Transgender People from Discrimination: Support (61.2%), Oppose (17.1%), Don't Know (21.7%)
Virginia
State Assembly: Democratic Candidate (61.9%), Republican Candidate (34.3%), Other Candidate (2.1%), Did Not Vote (1.7%)
State Senate: Democratic Candidate (61.1%), Republican Candidate (35.3%), Other Candidate (2.1%), Did Not Vote (1.4%)
Top 3 Issues: Education (48.1%), Health Care (37.0%), Economy/Jobs (32.0%)
Biden Approval Rating: Approve (46.7%), Disapprove (38.8%), Don’t Know (14.4%)
Support for Access to Legal Abortion: Support (60.1%), Oppose (25.3%), Don't Know (14.7%)
Support for Laws to Protect Transgender People from Discrimination: Support (62.2%), Oppose (20.7%), Don't Know (17.0%)
Support for 2024 Presidential Candidate: Joe Biden (40.5%), Donald Trump (23.3%), Other (19.3%), Don’t Know (16.9%)
Victim of Anti-Asian Harassment or Violence in the Past Two Years: Yes (8.8%), No (91.2%)
Do you believe that tensions between the U.S. and China may affect how you are treated as an Asian American? Yes (41.6%), No (35.9%), Don’t Know (22.5%)
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AALDEF 2023 Exit Poll and Poll Monitoring Co-Sponsors and Community Partners
Special thanks to the volunteers from the following law firms, bar associations, student associations, schools, and community groups who have contributed their time and expertise to make the 2023 AALDEF Asian American Exit Poll and Poll Monitoring Project a success.
National Organizations
18MillionRising
Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote)
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL)
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD)
National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA)
Local Organizations
AAPI Montclair/New Jersey
Adhikaar
Apex for Youth
Asian American Federation of New York (AAFNY)
Asian American Organizing Project Minnesota (AAOP)
Asian and Asian American Classical Caucus
Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA NY)
Caribbean Equality Project
Chinese Progressive Association (CPA Boston)
Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition
Hamkae Center
MinKwon Center for Community Action
National Federation of Filipino American Associations NY Chapter (NaFFAA-NY)
New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice
New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC)
Stand with Asian Americans
The Coalition of Asian-American Leaders Minnesota (CAAL)
Vietnamese American Initiative for Development (Viet-AID)
Legal Groups
Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM)
Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of NJ (APALA-NJ)
Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY)
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA)
Greater Boston Legal Services, Asian Outreach Center
Muslim Bar Association of New York (MuBANY)
South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY)
Law Firms
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Cooley
Dechert
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
Shearman & Sterling
Weil, Gotshal and Manges
WilmerHale
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich Rosati
School-Affiliated Groups
Asian American / Asian Research Institute CUNY
Berkeley SALSA
Boston University APALSA
Cardozo APALSA
Columbia APALSA
Columbia SALSA
Columbia School of Social Work Asian Pacific Islander Student Caucus (CSSW API Caucus)
Harvard AAPI Caucus
Harvard APALSA
Harvard Kennedy School Asian Pacific American Caucus
Korean Students Association at Princeton
Northeastern APALSA
NYU APA Institute
NYU APALSA
NYU GSAS Graduate Student Council
PENN APALSA
Princeton Asian American Students Association
Stanford APILSA
Suffolk University Law School APALSA (SULS APALSA)
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For additional information, contact:
Stuart J. Sia
Communications Director
212.966.5932 x203
ssia@aaldef.org