Asian voters are the fastest-growing ethnic group of color in the U.S., increasing by 2 million more voters since the last presidential election, according to a new survey. This year, Korean-American candidates in Southern California are taking advantage of this shift in the electoral landscape to target the Asian vote.
The Pew Research Center reports a 15 percent increase in the number of Asian voters, approximately 2 million, over the past four years since 2020. This growth rate surpasses that of Hispanics (+12%), blacks (+7%), and the overall voter increase (+3%).
The center estimates that, in the upcoming November presidential election, approximately 15 million Asian Americans will be eligible to vote. That’s a 2.8-fold increase from 5.4 million in 2000. Their share of the total electorate grew from 2.8% to 6.1% over the same period.
State-wise, California leads with 4.4 million Asian voters, followed by 1.2 million in New York, 1.1 million in Texas, 580,000 in Hawaii, and 575,000 in New Jersey.
Hawaii has the highest percentage of Asians within its voting population at 55%, with a significant majority of eligible voters being of Asian descent. When analyzed separately by Asian population, Hawaii (71%) still topped the list of eligible voters. Nevada (65%), Oregon (62%), California (62%), and Louisiana (60%) round out the top five.
On a national scale, over half (58%) of the Asian population are registered voters. Non-voters include permanent residents and those in the process of obtaining a green card. The majority of Asian voters are naturalized (56%) rather than born in the U.S. (44%). Educationally, Asian voters are among the most qualified compared to other ethnicities, with 34% possessing at least a bachelor’s degree. In terms of age, 58% were under 50, and 41% were 50 or older.
BY MINHYE KANG, HOONSIK WOO [kang.minhye@koreadailyny.com]
