Asian American Voter Survey

Key Takeaways from the 2022 Asian American Voter Survey

• More than two-thirds of registered Asian Americans surveyed say they plan to vote, but only about half have been contacted by either of the major parties. 52% of Asian Americans said they had not been contacted at all by the Democratic Party in the past year, and 60% of Asian Americans said they had not been contacted at all by the Republican Party in the past year.
• About half (51%) of Asian American registered voters surveyed say they prefer to cast their ballots by mail or drop-off box, rather than in-person at a polling place.
• Asian American registered voters as a whole were more likely to say they would vote for Democratic candidates compared to Republican candidates in House and Senate elections. Among national origin groups, Indian Americans were the most likely to say they would vote for Democratic candidates. Vietnamese Americans were split (Senate) or leaned toward the Republican candidates (House).
• 44% of Asian American registered voters surveyed think of themselves as Democrat, 19% think of themselves as Republican, and 29% consider themselves Independent. The remainder (“do not think of themselves in terms of political parties,” identify with another party, or said they don’t know).
• Asian American respondents ranked health care (88%), jobs and the economy (86%), crime (85%), education (82%), gun control (73%) and the environment (75%) as “extremely important” or “very important” issues for deciding their votes in November. Voting rights and addressing racism were also important issues.
• On addressing issues of health care, gun control, the environment, voting rights, and racism, Asian American respondents said Democrats were doing a better job than Republicans. On addressing economic issues, crime, and foreign-policy, respondents were more split in their assessment of the two parties’ handling of the issues.
• 77% of those surveyed agree the United States should have stricter gun laws, with 61% agreeing “strongly.” A strong majority (59%) also said they “agree somewhat” or “agree strongly” that undocumented immigrants should have an opportunity to eventually become citizens in the United States.
• By a 2-to-1 margin, Asian American registered voters oppose bans on books and bans on lessons about racism in American history by state/local governments or school boards
• 56% of Asian American respondents held a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” impression of Joe Biden compared to 29% who expressed either a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” impression of Donald Trump.
• Television was the most common news source for Asian American respondents (65%) and Facebook (32%) was nearly as common a news source as traditional print newspapers (36%). For some groups, especially Vietnamese Americans (51%), YouTube was regularly consulted as a news source.
• 73% of Asian Americans worry about experiencing hate crimes, harassment and discrimination at least “sometimes” and 24% said they worry about it “very often.”
• Among those who say they worry “very often” about hate crimes, support for Democratic House candidates is higher than support for Republican House candidates by a 3 to 1 margin.

See the 2022 survey report

See the 2022 full crosstabs data here

See the 2022 video presentation

This survey has become a key provider of insight for media, pollsters, corporations, and political campaigns, and fills a gap in the awareness and understanding about Asian American political views and attitudes, especially as a diverse coalition comprising different ethnicities, languages and cultural backgrounds.

Surveys like the Asian American Voter Survey is a public service resource and is only made possible through the financial support of donors like you. Help us communicate the voting impact of our communities. See a sample of media coverage on our survey data:

• How Asian Americans Are Thinking About The 2020 Election // Five Thirty Eight
• Asian-American voters prefer Biden to Trump, a new poll found. // New York Times
• Biden holds big lead over Trump with Asian American voters, survey says // Los Angeles Times
• Trump spent years trying to win over Indian Americans. Then Biden picked Harris. // POLITICO
• Asian American Voters Back Biden by Large Margin // Bloomberg (Election 2020)
• Asian Americans prefer Biden but many remain undecided: poll // The Hill
• Poll: Biden leads Trump among Asian Americans, many still undecided // Axios