This research assesses the significance of race and ethnicity in the participation of Asian Americans in recent U.S. elections. It reviews the major characteristics of the nonwhite, multiethnic population in recent census surveys and discusses the necessity for voting behavior research to address effects of international migration on eligibility issues in voting participation. Results from analyzing U.S. Current Population Survey Voter Supplement files, 1994–2000, indicate that Asian Americans’ apparent deficit in voting participation among voting-age persons can be reduced, removed, or even reversed when restricting analyses only to eligible persons. Multivariate analyses controlling for a set of institutional, contextual, and individual factors show that being Asian and foreign born may have the net effect of increasing voting registration, while being U.S. born and Asian may have the contrary effect, compared to non-Hispanic whites of comparable background. Nativity is not significant in impacting turnout among registered Asians as a whole, but U.S.-born Asians are less likely to turn out compared to their white counterparts. Among other findings, being foreign born may enhance the registration likelihood for Chinese, Korean, and Asian Indian American citizens and the turnout likelihood of registered Korean Americans.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbramsonP., AldrichJ., and RohdeD.1998Change and Continuity in the 1996 Elections.Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.
2.
AbramsonP., AldrichJ., and RohdeD.1994Change and Continuity in the 1992 Elections.Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.
3.
AbramsonP., AldrichJ., and RohdeD.1986“Measurement and Mismeasurement of the Validity of the Self-Reported Vote,”American Journal of Political Science, 30: 771–785.
4.
ArvizuJ., and GarciaF. C.1996“Latino Voting Participation: Explaining and Differentiating Latino Voting Turnout,”Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science, 18: 104–128.
5.
BarkanE. R.1983“Whom Shall We Integrate: A Comparative Analysis of the Immigration and Naturalization Trends of Asians before and after the 1965 Immigration Act (1951–1978),”Journal of American Ethnic History, 3: 29–55.
6.
BarnesJ. S., and BennettC.2002The Asian Population: 2000. Census 2000 Brief.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau.
7.
BoboL., and GilliamF. D.Jr.1990“Race, Sociopolitical Participation, and Black Empowerment,”American Political Science Review, 84: 377–393.
8.
BurnsN., SchlozmanK., and VerbaS.2001The Private Roots of Public Action: Gender, Equality, and Political Participation.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
9.
ChoW. T.1999“Naturalization, Socialization, and Participation: Immigrants and (Non-) Voting,”Journal of Politics, 61: 1140–1155.
10.
ChoW. T., and CainB.2001“Asian Americans as the Median Voters: An Exploration of Attitudes and Voting Patterns on Ballot Initiatives.” In Asian Americans and Politics: Perspectives, Experiences, Prospects. Ed. ChangG. H.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press and the Woodrow Wilson Center Press. Pp. 133–152
11.
ConwayM. M.1991Political Participation in the United States, 2nd Ed.Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.
12.
ConwayM. M., SteuernagelG., and AhernD.1997Women and Political Participation.Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.
13.
EspinaM. E.1988Filipinos in Louisiana.New Orleans: A. F. Laborde & Sons.
14.
FranklinM. N.1996“Electoral Participation.” In Comparing Democracies: Elections and Voting in Global Perspectives. Ed. LeDucL., NiemiR., and NorrisP.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Pp. 216–235
15.
HightonB.2000“Residential Mobility, Community Mobility, and Electoral Participation,”Political Behavior, 22: 109–120.
16.
HightonB., and WolfingerR. E.1998“Estimating the Effects of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993,”Political Behavior, 20: 79–104.
17.
HingB. O.1993Making and Remaking Asian America through Immigration Policy 1850–1990.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
18.
HsiehJ., and NewmanD.2002How Asia Votes.New York: Chatham House/Seven Bridges Press.
19.
Hu-DeHartE., ed. 1999Across the Pacific: Asian Americans and Globalization.Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
20.
HuckfeldtR. R.1995Citizens, Politics, and Social Communication: Information and Influence in an Election Campaign.New York: Cambridge University Press.
21.
JacksonR. A.1996“A Reassessment of Voter Mobilization,”Political Research Quarterly, 49: 331–349.
22.
JiobuR. M.1996“Recent Asian Pacific Immigrants: The Demographic Background.” In The State of Asian Pacific America: Reframing the Immigration Debate. A Public Policy Report. Ed. HingB. O., and LeeR.Los Angeles: LEAP Asian Pacific American Public Policy Institute and UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Pp. 35–57
23.
Jones-CorreaM.1998“Different Paths: Gender, Immigration and Political Participation,”International Migration Review, 32(2): 326–349.
24.
KatoshJ., and TraugottM.1981“The Consequence of Validated and Self-Reported Voting Measures,”Public Opinion Quarterly, 45: 519–535.
25.
KeyV. O.Jr.1949Southern Politics in State and Nation.New York: Vintage.
26.
LaiJ.2000“The Recruitment of Asian Pacific American Elected Officials and Their Impact on Group Political Mobilization.” Unpublished Dissertation Manuscript. University of Southern California.
27.
LeighleyJ. E.2001Strength in Numbers? The Political Mobilization of Racial and Ethnic Minorities.Princeton: Princeton University Press.
28.
LienP.2001a The Making of Asian America through Political Participation.Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
29.
LienP.2001b “Race, Gender, and the Comparative Status of Asian American Women in Voting Participation.” In Asian Americans and Politics: Perspectives, Experiences, and Prospects. Ed. ChangG. H.Stanford. CA: Stanford University Press and the Woodrow Wilson Center Press. Pp. 173–193
30.
LienP.2000“Who Votes in Multiracial America? An Analysis of Voting and Registration by Race and Ethnicity, 1990–96.” In Black and Multiracial Politics in America. Ed. Alex-AssensohY., and HanksL.New York: New York University Press. Pp. 199–224
31.
LienP.1998“Does the Gender Gap in Political Attitudes and Behavior Vary across Racial Groups?,”Political Research Quarterly, 51: 869–894.
32.
LienP.1997The Political Participation of Asian Americans: Voting Behavior in Southern California.New York: Garland Publishing.
33.
LienP.1994“Ethnicity and Political Participation: A Comparison between Asian and Mexican Americans,”Political Behavior, 16: 237–264.
34.
MackieT., and RoseR.1991International Almanac of Electoral History, 3rd Ed.Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.
35.
NakanishiD. T.1998“When Numbers Do Not Add Up: Asian Pacific Americans and California Politics.” In Racial and Ethnic Politics in California, Volume Two. Ed. PrestonM. B., CainB., and BassS.Berkeley: IGS Press. Pp. 3–43
36.
NakanishiD. T.1991“The Next Swing Vote? Asian Pacific Americans and California Politics.” In Racial and Ethnic Politics in California. Ed. JacksonB. O., and PrestonM. B.Berkeley: IGS Press. Pp. 25–54
37.
NakanishiD. T.1986“Asian American Politics: An Agenda for Research,”Amerasia Journal, 12(2): 1–27.
38.
OkihiroG.1994Margins and Mainstream.Seattle: University of Washington Press.
39.
OngP., and NakanishiD.1996“Becoming Citizens, Becoming Voters: The Naturalization and Political Participation of Asian Pacific Immigrants.” In The State of Asian Pacific America: Reframing the Immigration Debate. Ed. HingB. O., and LeeR.Los Angeles: LEAP Asian Pacific American Public Policy Institute and UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Pp. 275–305
40.
OngP., BonacichE., and ChengL., eds. 1994The New Asian Immigration in Los Angeles and Global Restructuring.Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
41.
PortesA., and RumbautR. G.1996Immigrant America: A Portrait, 2nd Ed.Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
42.
RamakrishnanS. K., and EspenshadeT. J.2001“Immigrant Incorporation and Political Participation in the United States,”International Migration Review, 35(3): 870–909.
43.
RosenstoneS. J., and HansenJ. M.1993Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America.New York: Macmillan.
44.
SchlozmanK., BurnsN., and VerbaS.1994“Gender and the Pathways to Participation: The Role of Resources,”Journal of Politics, 56: 963–987.
45.
SchlozmanK., BurnsN., VerbaS., and DonahueJ.1995“Gender and Citizen Participation: Is There a Different Voice?,”American Journal of Political Science, 39: 267–293.
46.
ShawD., de la GarzaR. O., and LeeJ.2000“Examining Latino Turnout in 1996: A Three-State, Validated Survey Approach,”American Journal of Political Science, 44: 338–346.
47.
ShinagawaL. H.1996“The Impact of Immigration on the Demography of Asian Pacific Americans.” In The State of Asian Pacific America: Reframing the Immigration Debate. A Public Policy Report. Ed. HingB. O., and LeeR.Los Angeles: LEAP Asian Pacific American Public Policy Institute and UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Pp. 59–126
48.
SigelmanL.1982“The Nonvoting Voter in Voting Research,”American Journal of Political Science, 26: 47–56.
49.
TarnW.1995“Asians – A Monolithic Voting Bloc?”Political Behavior, 17: 223–249.
50.
TeixeiraR. A.1992The Disappearing American Voter.Washington, DC: Brookings.
51.
UhlanerC. J., CainB. E., and KiewietD. R.1989“Political Participation of Ethnic Minorities in the 1980s,”Political Behavior, 11: 195–232.
52.
VerbaS., and NieN. H.1972Participation in America.New York: Harper & Row.
53.
VerbaS., SchlozmanK., and BradyH.1995Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
54.
U.S. Bureau of the Census19931990 Census of Population. Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
55.
WolfingerR. E., and RosenstoneS. J.1980Who Votes?New Haven: Yale University Press.
56.
WongJ.2001“The New Dynamics of Immigrants’ Political Incorporation: A Multi-Method Study of Political Participation and Mobilization among Asian and Latino Immigrants in the United States.” Unpublished dissertation manuscript. Department of Political Science. Yale University.
