Politicians must engage with Asian American voters

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month ended in May. But the question for community leadership organizations like the Asian American Federation and our members and allies is: How do we keep our community in focus year-round?

While celebratory months come and go, preparations for election season are always upon us. Thanks to recent results, political pundits now realize what our community has known for years: Engaging Asian American voters is crucial for winning an election. But as candidates vie for our votes, some fail to recognize that the key to gaining them is year-round engagement.

At 1.5 million strong, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing voting bloc in New York City. On Long Island, the Asian population grew by 4.4% to 252,957 between 2022 and 2023, according to a Newsday analysis. Asian American voters represent more than 20 ethnic groups and speak more than 40 languages.

This diversity, driven by national origin, home-country ties, and linguistic identity, results in varying socioeconomic circumstances. For some, health care access is pressing, while others prioritize more funding for schools, immigration reform, or safety in light of ongoing anti-Asian violence and racist political rhetoric.

In community meetings, we often hear, “Why are we only sought out during election season? We are here year-round, and we want to be engaged on issues important to the entire community. We feel unseen and ignored.”

Elected leaders and candidates must think beyond transactional relationships during election season and engage in earnest with their Asian American constituents using linguistically and culturally sensitive approaches. Most importantly, our community tends to vote based on issues, not party affiliation. Candidates must recognize our unique complexities and avoid lumping us under a simplistic “Asian vote” label.

Failing to tailor outreach efforts to our needs excludes many in our community from crucial conversations that influence voters. AAF understands these challenges, as do our member agencies that lead civic engagement programs, especially in communities where only 50% of residents are proficient in English.

A new AAF report highlights the power of consistent and culturally sensitive outreach to Asian American voters: Rep. Tom Suozzi’s campaign successfully engaged Asian American voters, demonstrating how our communities were key to victory in February’s Third Congressional District special election. More than 17% of registered voters in the district are Asian American; 37.5% of them are unaffiliated with any party. Suozzi won the Queens area by more than 20 points, significantly outperforming the previous Democratic candidate’s 4-point margin in the same area.

Suozzi’s campaign connected with Asian American communities through local events in places where Asian New Yorkers gather. Furthermore, because nearly 63% of Asian Americans in his district are foreign-born and 34.8% have limited English proficiency, the campaign produced multilingual voter literature in Chinese, Korean, and Urdu to ensure broad outreach, a tactic we know is effective. Suozzi’s win illustrates the power of the Asian American vote.

It would be a critical mistake for any campaign to continue to disregard the voting power of Asian American New Yorkers and to not meet our communities where they are.

My community has been long ignored, but we are Americans who want to be engaged as a key to change. The Asian American community wields significant power as a voting bloc. Our votes will support candidates who connect with us in ways that respect our culture and heritage. We are here. We want to be engaged, and we are ready to vote.

This guest essay reflects the views of Jo-Ann Yoo, executive director of the Asian American Federation.