Press Release

New York, NY — Today, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) released results of its nonpartisan, multilingual exit poll of 337 Asian American voters in the December 6, 2022, Senate runoff elections in Georgia.

Asian American voters polled in Georgia overwhelmingly supported incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock to remain in the U.S. Senate. This primarily remained true across demographic groups defined by national origin, gender, age, and English proficiency.

Polling was conducted at five key sites for Asian American voters in DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Voters were surveyed in English, as well as 4 Asian languages: Bengali, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

“The Senate runoff in Georgia was a critical election, not just for the state but also for the entire country. Georgians have given Senate Democrats a 51 to 49 majority that will affect our national policy for the coming years. For Asian American voters in Georgia, health care and specifically abortion access proved to be a critical issue strongly influencing their vote,” said Margaret Fung, executive director of AALDEF.

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.

“Asian Americans were nearly unified in their support of Raphael Warnock for Senate and were likely the difference in this extremely close election. Unfortunately, too many Asian American voters were sent to the wrong poll site and were not given provisional ballots,” said Jerry Vattamala, director of AALDEF’s Democracy Program.

AALDEF attorneys and volunteers observed several voter problems, including:

• Voters being redirected to different poll sites
• Voters being sent to incorrect poll sites
• Voters not being provided provisional ballots

RESULTS

Asian American voters’ support for Senator Warnock grew versus the November 8 General Election, with 78.1% supporting him in the runoff versus 60.1% in the general election.

The five largest Asian American national origin groups in our survey supported Senator Warnock:

• Bangladeshi: 96.3% Warnock, 3.7% Walker
• Asian Indian: 83.3% Warnock, 14.1% Walker
• Vietnamese: 80.0% Warnock, 20.0% Walker
• Korean: 64.8% Warnock, 35.2% Walker
• Chinese: 61.5% Warnock, 38.5% Walker

Female voters supported Warnock 81.4% and Walker 17.9%, while Male voters supported Warnock 75.7% and Walker 23.6%.

Native-Born voters supported Warnock 93.2% and Walker 6.8%, while Foreign-Born voters supported Warnock 72.3% and Walker 27.7%.

Voters with limited English proficiency (LEP) supported Warnock 64.4% and Walker 35.6%, while Non-LEP voters supported Warnock 84.9% and Walker 15.1%.

Registered Democrats voted for Warnock by 98.5% while registered Republicans voted for Walker by 84.6%.

Asian American voters ranked top three categories influencing their vote for U.S. Senate as Education, Health Care, and Economy/Jobs.

• Top 3 for Warnock: Health Care; Education; and Economy/Jobs
• Top 3 for Walker: Economy/Jobs; Education; and Taxes

32.9% of Asian American voters who voted for Governor Kemp in the November 8 general election voted for Senate Warnock in the December 6 runoffs.

89.2% of Asian American voters who did not vote for a candidate for governor on November 8, voted for Warnock in the December 6 runoffs.

Asian American voters who approve of Joe Biden’s performance voted for Warnock 93.5% and Walker 5.8%.

Asian American voters who disapprove of Joe Biden’s performance voted for Warnock 37.1% and Walker 62.9%.

Asian American voters who support abortion access voted for Warnock 91.5% and Walker 8.0%.

Asian American voters who oppose abortion access voted for Warnock 34.0% and Walker 66.0%.

Asian American voters aged 18-29 voted Warnock 92.0% and Walker 6.7%.

Asian American voters aged 30-39 voted Warnock 87.5% and Walker 12.5%.

Asian American voters aged 40-49 voted Warnock 84.9% and Walker 15.1%.

Asian American voters aged 50-59 voted Warnock 66.1% and Walker 33.9%.

Asian American voters aged 60-69 voted Warnock 71.9% and Walker 25.0%.

Asian American voters aged 70 and over voted Warnock 37.5% and Walker 62.5%.

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Special thanks to the volunteers at Center for Pan Asian Community Services and community groups who have contributed their time and expertise to make the 2022 AALDEF Asian American Exit Poll Project a success.

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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