UMass Boston Study Provides New Data on Asian Americans and Voter Registration in Massachusetts

(Boston, MA) According to the 2000 Census, the Asian American population is the fastest growing racial group in Massachusetts. Levels of Asian American electoral participation and political clout, however, have not matched the dramatic population growth. Serious gaps in voter eligibility and registration rates are some of the challenges facing Asian Americans in increasing political participation. A new report by UMass Boston’s Paul Watanabe and Michael Liu of the Institute for Asian American Studies provides new and extensive data on Asian Americans and voter registration.

In the preliminary report, Watanabe and Liu gathered detailed information in ten of the top eleven cities and towns in Massachusetts with the largest Asian American populations. The study focuses on individual and combined data from Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Lexington, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Quincy, Somerville, and Worcester.

In the ten combined cities and towns, researchers found 25.4 percent of voting age Asian Americans are registered to vote. In comparison, the registration rate for all residents of voting age is more than double the Asian American rate. Examining citizenship rates in the combined area, Watanabe and Liu note that only 50.3 percent of Asian American adults are estimated to be citizens compared to 92 percent of the total Massachusetts population. Of the Asian Americans who are citizens, only 50.5 percent are registered to vote, compared to the 69.5 percent of all citizens. Generally lower Asian American voter registration rates are attributed to a high proportion of foreign-born Asian American residents, lower citizenship rates, and individual factors, such as difficulties registering.

Watanabe and Liu identified critical discrepancies in voter eligibility and registration rates and the total population for Asian Americans. While Asian Americans account for 8.8 percent of the total adult residents of the cities and towns surveyed, they represent only 5 percent of the voting age citizen population. This “voter eligibility gap” reflects a barrier posed by citizenship requirements that limit the ability of Asian Americans to register to vote. Researchers also identify a “voter registration gap,” which is the disparity between the 3.7 percent of Asian Americans who are registered voters and their 5 percent of the voting age citizen population.

Researchers believe these gaps could be narrowed by increasing the naturalization rates of Asian American immigrants, and, thereby, closing the eligibility gap and/or increasing the registration rates of those Asian Americans who are citizens. While the data they found suggests that increasing naturalization rates is a substantial challenge, they believe increasing registration rates for those who are citizens is an attainable goal.

To erase the registration gap for the ten combined cities and towns, the number of Asian Americans registered to vote must increase by 37.8 percent. Identifying differences in registration and citizenship rates by city or town, researchers note each community must achieve different levels of registration rates to eliminate voter registration gaps. Among the ten cities, Lexington and Brookline have the highest percentage of voter registration rates among Asian Americans. Communities that have lower voter registration rates, such as Lowell or Lynn, face greater challenges in increasing such rates.

The study also includes data on the party affiliation of Asian Americans registered to vote. For more information on the study or to talk with the authors, please call (617) 287-5650 or (617) 287-5300. The study will be available online at www.iaas.umb.edu on August 6.

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