A detailed analysis of a multilingual exit poll of 9,096 Asian American
A detailed analysis of a multilingual exit poll of 9,096 Asian American voters in 37 cities in 14 states and the District of Columbia has found that South Asians collectively, and in their diverse ethnic groups, voted overwhelmingly for Democrat President Barack Obama over Republican Gov. Mitt Romney in the November presidential election.
Prior polls, conducted both before and after the election, had shown South Asians led all Asian American groups in support for Obama (I-W, Oct. 26, 2012).
The data released Jan. 17 by the New York-based Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund shows that, while 77% of Asian Americans overall voted for Obama, about 96% of Bangladeshi Americans voted for him, 91% of Pakistani Americans expressed support for the president and 84% of Indian Americans voted for Obama’s reelection.
Chinese, Koreans and Filipinos were supporters of Obama with 81%, 78% and 65% of their votes, respectively, while Vietnamese favored Romney by a 54% to 44% margin.
Of the 9,096 Asian Americans polled, about 28% were South Asians. About 13% of those polled were Indian Americans, 12% Bangladeshis and 3% Pakistanis.
Glenn Magpantay, AALDEF democracy program director, presented poll results at a dial-in briefing in Washington, D.C. He cautioned that, while the poll was one of the largest ever conducted of Asian American voters, with findings for Bangladeshis and Pakistanis — groups usually ignored by mainstream pollsters — there are some limitations.
The 14 states in the poll — California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Nevada, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Maryland and Virginia — are all states with large Asian American populations.
However, other states with large populations of Asians — Ohio (a relatively conservative state) and Oregon and Washington (two states that voted for Obama) — were not included.
Voters in rural areas, where voters tend to vote more conservatively, were also not polled.
In Pennsylvania, Michigan and New York, Asian Americans voted for Obama in percentages as high as 89%, 86% and 86%, respectively, while at Louisiana and Texas poll sites, Obama received just 16% and 57% of the presidential vote, respectively.
Asian Americans under 40 were more likely to have favored Obama.
By age group, 86% of Asian Americans from 18 to 29 years of age voted for Obama and 10% for Romney, while of those ages 30-39, 82% were for Obama and 16% for Romney.
Obama’s support over Romney ranged between 73% and 76% to 23%-27% for all other older age groups.
Bangladeshi American voters had the highest percentage of first-time voters among all Asian American groups at 45%. About 35% of Pakistanis, 29% of Indian Americans, and 27% of Asian Americans overall voted for the first time.
Almost two-thirds of Asian Americans polled favored comprehensive immigration reform, with a range of support by ethnic group.
Overall among the respondents, 34% of Asian Americans “strongly support” and 31% “support” comprehensive immigration, including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Among ethnic groups, there were varied levels of support for immigration reform, with a high of 78% of Bangladeshi Americans and Pakistani Americans, and a low of 49% of Vietnamese Americans.
via www.indiawest.com