Asian Americans Least Likely to Vote, According to New Study by Researchers at Institute of Asian American Studies

By Leigh DuPuy

While Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in Massachusetts, they are the least likely to be registered voters, according to new research by Paul Watanabe and Michael Liu of the Institute for Asian American Studies. In a preliminary study released August 6, Watanabe and Liu found serious gaps between voter eligibility and registration rates among Asian Americans. "This study is part of our larger commitment to examine political participation among Asian Americans in Massachusetts," explains Watanabe.

Watanabe and Liu looked at ten cities and towns with the largest populations of Asian Americans in Massachusetts, including Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Lexington, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Quincy, Somerville, and Worcester. In these combined cities and towns, they found that only 50.3 percent of Asian Americans are estimated to be citizens compared to 92 percent of the total Massachusetts population.

While lack of citizenship is an obvious barrier to Asian American voter registration, Watanabe and Liu also found that among those who were citizens, registration was very low. Of those that are citizens, only 25.4 percent of Asian Americans of voting age are registered to vote, compared to 61.4 percent of all voting-age residents in the state.

Factors such as difficulties in registration, access to voter information, or individual motivation could be ccountable for lower registration rates. However, Watanabe and Liu believe that increases in these rates are very attainable. "Though the data shows Asian Americans lack political participation, we hope that community organizations will use our report as a direct resource to increase voter registration and participation," says Liu.

The report shows extensive data on each of the ten cities and towns, including party affiliation of Asian Americans registered to vote. Among the surveyed areas, Lexington and Brookline top the list with the highest percentage of Asian American registered voters. Communities that have smaller numbers of Asian American registered voters, such as Lowell or Lynn, face greater challenges in increasing these rates.

For researchers at the institute, this study is only the beginning. "We intend to continue a more expanded look into other cities and towns, as well as examining other forms of political participation, such as contributions to political campaigns," says Watanabe. The full report can be found at www.iaas.umb.edu.

Image: The Institute for Asian American Studies’ Paul Watanabe, co-director and associate professor of political science, and Michael Liu, community programs coordinator and research associate, recently completed the most extensive research to date on voter registration and Asian Americans in Massachusetts. (Photo by Harry Brett)

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