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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 27, 2020
Contact: Donna De La Cruz
(202) 441-3798 / ddelacruz@napawf.org

Washington, D.C.– Asian American and Pacific Islander women reached historic voting levels in 2018, and there is no doubt we will be a powerful voting bloc in 2020 and in future elections.

Intersections of Our Lives released the polling data last year that demonstrated the growing power of Black, Latina, Asian American and Pacific Islander women voters. The research follows the 2018 midterm election where women of color voted at historic levels. Intersections of Our Lives is a collaborative of three Reproductive Justice organizations: National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice; In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda; and National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).

“This year, NAPAWF will be using lessons learned from our GOTV efforts ahead of the 2018 election and our poll to double down on turning out AAPI women to vote. We are outraged at rampant racial inequity, including racism and harassment toward Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Immigrants, including AAPI women immigrants, still lack full access to affordable health care. Anti-abortion lawmakers continue forward in their relentless attacks on our reproductive rights and health. For these reasons and more, meaningful representation of the values and priorities of AAPI women cannot be ignored,” said Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director of NAPAWF.

The poll demonstrated that women of color voters are overwhelmingly concerned about the state of the country (75 percent) and believed that the stakes were too high not to vote in the 2018 election (88 percent). Importantly, a majority of women of color are paying close attention to the actions of their elected officials and want to see progress made on the issues they care about – including access to clean water, access to affordable health care, and ending racial discrimination.

AAPIs are the fastest-growing racial group in the United States, and over the next four decades will come to represent 1 in 10 people living in this country. These forecasts have major significance, as the population of AAPI voters is expected to double from 5.9 million in 2015 to 12.2 million in 2040.

Here are key points on why AAPI women are a particular strong voting bloc:

  • 73 percent of AAPI women are angry and disgusted by the direction of this country, and the racism and harassment directed at them during the COVID-19 pandemic spurred on by President Trump and his followers deeming the virus “Kung Flu.”

  • 85 percent of AAPI women want representation that looks like them and values what they value

  • 76 percent of AAPI women are different from white women and want elected officials to know and act on this

  • AAPI women internalize and deeply understand intersectionality and the effect of reproductive freedom on many other parts of our lives

The poll, which was conducted by SKDKnickerbocker, included interviews of 2,663 adult women who identify as Black or African American, Hispanic, Latino, of a Spanish-speaking background, Asian American or Pacific Islander and who voted in the 2018 midterm elections. The interviews were conducted between January 23 and February 14, 2019. The survey was made available in English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean and was administered online and by telephone.

Go to this link to learn more about the poll.

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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.