Asian American voters overwhelmingly supported Democrats in all states polled, except for Texas

DC | CA | FL | GA | LA | MA | MD | MI | MN | NJ | NM | NV | NY | PA | TX | VA

New York, NY — Today, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) released preliminary results of its nonpartisan, multilingual exit poll of 5,351 Asian American voters in the November 8, 2022, midterm elections.

Voters were surveyed in English, as well as 11 Asian languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Khmer, Korean, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese. More detailed results will be provided soon.

“In the last decade, Asian Americans have been the fastest growing racial group in the electorate, numbering more than 13.3 million Asian American voters. Their support or opposition can make or break a close election. Our flagship exit poll illuminates the crosscutting issues that are important to Asian American communities and the values we share. With critical issues like abortion access and immigration at stake in the midterm elections, the Asian American vote is now more important than ever,” said Margaret Fung, executive director of AALDEF.

Over 550 AALDEF volunteers surveyed Asian American voters and monitored poll sites in 15 states (California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia) and the District of Columbia. Volunteers also monitored for compliance with the language assistance provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act, and to guard against anti-Asian discrimination and intimidation.

In August, AALDEF and community partners secured a Memorandum of Understanding to require Malden, Massachusetts to provide a comprehensive Chinese language election program as mandated by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. This win followed a similar one in Hamtramck, Michigan from July of last year, when the U.S. District Court signed a Consent Decree and Order in favor of AALDEF’s lawsuit over the city’s failure to provide Bengali language election information and assistance. AALDEF attorneys and community partners in Malden, Hamtramck, and other 203-covered jurisdictions kept a close eye on Election Day to ensure Asian American voters were receiving the bilingual election materials and language assistance they need and are entitled to under federal law.

“Asian Americans were nearly unified in their support of candidates for the House, the Senate, and their respective governors and were likely the difference in close races in Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. Unfortunately, too many Asian American voters were required to provide identification when it was not required, were sent to the wrong poll site, were not given provisional ballots, and did not have access to interpreters in jurisdictions that were required to provide them,” said Jerry Vattamala, director of AALDEF’s Democracy Program.

AALDEF attorneys and volunteers observed several voter problems, including:

• Missing or no interpreters
• Poll workers incorrectly requiring voters to provide identification
• Voters being sent to incorrect poll sites
• Voters not being provided provisional ballots
• Machine breakdowns

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Nationally

Vote for House of Representatives: 64.0% Democrat, 32.0% Republican, 2.7% Other, 1.2% Did Not Vote

Top 3 factors influencing House vote: Economy/Jobs (15.0%), Health Care (14.5%), Education (13.1%)

Vote for Governor (CA, FL, GA, MA, MD, MI, NV, NY, PA, TX only): 61.5% Democrat, 35.0% Republican, 2.4% Other, 1.1% Did Not Vote

Vote for Senate (CA, FL, GA, LA, MD, NV, NY, PA only): 66.1% Democrat, 30.0% Republican, 2.5% Other, 1.4% Did Not Vote

Joe Biden Approval: 45.3% Approve, 23.3% Don’t Know, 31.4% Disapprove

Victim of Anti-Asian Harassment or Violence in the Past Two Years: 21.6% Yes, 78.4% No

Support Requiring Teaching a Unit of AAPI History in K-12: 82.7% Yes, 17.3% No

Support Access to Legal Abortion: 63.8% Support, 15.8% Don’t Know, 20.4% Oppose

Support Laws to Protect Transgender People from Discrimination: 65.2% Support, 20.9% Don’t Know, 14.0% Oppose

Main Source of News: Newspaper (18.3%), Other (15.9%), CNN (13.0%), Radio (9.9%), and Facebook (9.2%)

Outcome of 2020 Presidential Election Legitimate (DC, LA, MA, MI, NJ, TX, VA only): 59.2% Yes, 16.3% No, 24.5% Don’t Know

Nevada

Vote for House of Representatives: 62.9% Democrat, 26.4% Republican, 9.4% Other, 1.3% Did Not Vote

Top 4 factors influencing House vote: Health Care (20.4%), Economy/Jobs (17.3%), Education (10.8%), and Immigration/Reform (10.8%)

Vote for Governor: 69.6% Democrat, 23.9% Republican, 6.9% Other, 0.6% Did Not Vote

Vote for Senate: 66.9% Democrat, 25.6% Republican, 6.9% Other, 0.6% Did Not Vote

Joe Biden Approval: 61.4% Approve, 11.7% Don’t Know, 27.0% Disapprove

Support Access to Legal Abortion: 42.0% Support, 18.5% Don’t Know, 39.5% Oppose

Pennsylvania

Vote for House of Representatives: 76.1% Democrat, 20.6% Republican, 2.6% Other, 0.7% Did Not Vote

Top 3 factors influencing House vote: Health Care (16.3%), Abortion (12.4%), and Education (12.2%)

Vote for Governor: 73.4% Democrat, 20.9% Republican, 5.4% Other, 0.3% Did Not Vote

Vote for Senate: 74.4% Democrat, 21.8% Republican, 2.9% Other, 1.0% Did Not Vote

Joe Biden Approval: 51.1% Approve, 29.8% Don’t Know, 19.1% Disapprove

Support Access to Legal Abortion: 66.5% Support, 13.7% Don’t Know, 19.8% Oppose

Georgia

Vote for House of Representatives: 60.3% Democrat, 35.1% Republican, 3.3% Other, 1.3% Did Not Vote

Top 3 factors influencing House vote: Health Care (16.3%), Economy/Jobs (14.0%), and Education (13.5%)

Vote for Governor: 55.3% Democrat, 38.8% Republican, 4.0% Other, 2.0% Did Not Vote

Vote for Senate: 60.1% Democrat, 33.3% Republican, 4.6% Other, 2.0% Did Not Vote

Joe Biden Approval: 37.9% Approve, 26.1% Don’t Know, 36.0% Disapprove

Support Access to Legal Abortion: 59.2% Support, 19.8% Don’t Know, 21.0% Oppose

Florida

Vote for House of Representatives: 58.2% Democrat, 27.9% Republican, 8.2% Other, 5.7% Did Not Vote

Top 3 factors influencing House vote: Economy/Jobs (16.7%), Education (14.4%), Health Care (15.0%)

Vote for Governor: 54.6% Democrat, 34.7% Republican, 6.6% Other, 4.1% Did Not Vote

Vote for Senate: 54.7% Democrat, 34.2% Republican, 6.0% Other, 5.1% Did Not Vote

Joe Biden Approval: 50.4% Approve, 22.8% Don’t Know, 26.8% Disapprove

Support Access to Legal Abortion: 53.7% Support, 17.1% Don’t Know, 29.3% Oppose

Texas

Vote for House of Representatives: 43.9% Democrat, 52.6% Republican, 2.0% Other, 1.6% Did Not Vote

Top 3 factors influencing House vote: Economy/Jobs (16.1%), Education (15.3%), and Health Care (13.1%)

Vote for Governor: 45.7% Democrat, 51.5% Republican, 1.6% Other, 1.4% Did Not Vote

Joe Biden Approval: 32.8% Approve, 23.9% Don’t Know, 43.3% Disapprove

Support Access to Legal Abortion: 55.0% Support, 15.1% Don’t Know, 29.9% Oppose

Michigan

Vote for House of Representatives: 79.3% Democrat,15.5% Republican, 4.2% Other, 1.0% Did Not Vote

Top 3 factors influencing House vote: Education (18.5%), Health Care (16.6%), and Abortion (12.4%)

Vote for Governor: 78.2% Democrat,16.6% Republican, 4.7% Other, 0.5% Did Not Vote

Joe Biden Approval: 49.5% Approve, 28.1% Don’t Know, 22.4% Disapprove

Support Access to Legal Abortion: 66.5% Support, 10.8% Don’t Know, 22.7% Oppose

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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 2022 AALDEF Asian American Exit Poll Project a success.

AALDEF 2022 Exit Poll & Poll Monitoring Co-Sponsors

List as of November 8, 2022

National Co-Sponsors

Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIA Vote)

Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)

National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)

National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA)

OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates

Voters of Tomorrow

Local Co-Sponsors

ACDC Texas**

Asian American Federation of Florida

American Citizens for Justice / Asian American Center for Justice (ACJ)

American Friends Service Committee

Apex for Youth

Asian American Federation of New York (AAFNY)

Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP MN)

Asian Americans United (AAU)**

Asian Family Support Services of Austin, Austin Asian communities Civic Coalition

Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA Austin)**

Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote – Michigan (APIA VOTE MI)**

Asian Texans for Justice (ATJ)**

Association of Chinese Americans (ACA)**

Boat People SOS – Houston**

Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA Lowell)**

CAPI MN

Caribbean Equality Project**

Center for Pan Asian Community Services (CPACS)**

Charles B. Wang Community Health Center (CBWCHC)

Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL MN)**

Florida Asian Services (FASC)**

GAPIMNY- Empowering Queer & Trans Asian Pacific Islanders

Hamkae Center**

Houston in Action**

Japanese American Citizens League – Houston**

KAYF - We Are Future Leaders

Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York**

MinKwon Center for Community Action**

National Federation of Filipino American Associations - NY Chapter

National Federation of Filipino American Associations – San Diego/Imperial Chapter**

New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice

OCA Dallas and Fort Worth (OCA DFW)**

OCA Detroit**

OCA Greater Houston Chapter**

OCA South Florida

Pilipino American Unity for Progress NY (UniPro NY)**

Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition, Inc. (SEAMAAC)**

Upper Manhattan Asian American Alliance

VietLEAD**

Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans (VAYLA)

Woodside on the Move**

Legal

Asian American Bar Association of Houston

Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY)

Asian Law Alliance (ALA)**

Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of NJ (APALA-NJ)

Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC)

Asian Pacific Bar Association of DC (APABA-DC)

Asian Pacific Bar Association of Maryland (APABA-MD)

Asian Pacific Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA)

Austin Asian American Bar Association (AAABA)

Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA)**

Greater Boston Legal Services – Asian Outreach Unit**

Muslim Bar Association of New York (MuBANY)

South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY)

Law Firm Co-Sponsors

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP**

Covington & Burling LLP**

Cooley LLP**

DLA Piper**

Foley Hoag LLP**

Goodwin Procter LLP

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP**

Richards, Layton & Finger

Ropes & Gray**

Shearman & Sterling LLP**

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

WilmerHale**

Wilson Elser

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

School Co-Sponsors

Berkeley SALSA

Boston College APALSA**

Cardozo APALSA

Columbia APALSA**

Columbia Asian American Alliance

Columbia School of Social Work Asian Pacific Islander Student Caucus (CSSW API Caucus)

Columbia School of Social Work China Center for Social Policy

Columbia University School of Social Work

Cornell Law School

CUNY Asian American / Asian Research Institute

Duke APALSA

Golden Gate University APALSA

Harvard APALSA**

Harvard Kennedy School Asian Pacific American Caucus

Harvard Pan-Asian Graduate Student Alliance

Hunter College Asian American Studies Program**

Michigan Law APALSA

NYU APA Institute

NYU APALSA

Penn Law APALSA

Suffolk Law APALSA

University of Michigan APALSA

UCSD Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern Desi American (APIMEDA) Programs and Services

UT Austin Center for Asian American Studies

Washington & Lee APALSA

**Special acknowledgment of community organizations, schools, and law firms who stepped up as poll site supervisors in different cities to carry out the Asian American Exit Poll Project.

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For additional information, contact:

Stuart J. Sia
Communications Director
212.966.5932 x203
ssia@aaldef.org

Susana Lorenzo-Giguere
Assistant Director, Democracy Program
212.966.5932 x211
slorenzo-giguere@aaldef.org

Jerry Vattamala
Director, Democracy Program
212.966.5932 x209
jvattamala@aaldef.org