AAPI voting has increased in North Carolina, but barriers remain

Voting by Asian American and Pacific Islanders in North Carolina surged during the 2020 election. That’s according to Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, a national nonpartisan organization.

With a recent history of tight outcomes in major state elections, that level of participation can make a difference. But barriers remain to turnout. 

WFDD's Paul Garber spoke with Jimmy Patel Nguyen,  the state communications director for North Carolina Asian Americans Together, or NCAAT.

Patel Nguyen says the majority of AAPI voters are not affiliated with a party.

"We're really focused on voting on issues," he says. "We want to know what candidates are talking about, what they're bringing to the table, specifically to address the issues that we care about. And so that is a huge opportunity for candidates to really take to those particular issues, and not rely on deference to party affiliation."

Interview Highlights

On issues important to AAPI voters:

"Some of the top issues are the economy, jobs, abortion access and reproductive freedoms, things like public education. I think those are some of the top issues that Asian Americans from a poll that we ran in 2023 have identified as some of the issues that truly matter to us."

On barriers to increasing voter turnout of Asian Americans:

"North Carolina and nationwide, I think two of the biggest barriers is the language access part of it, and I think the other part of it is voter contact. I feel like Asian American voters have oftentimes been overlooked in these elections, and that's a mistake from the campaign's perspective, because we have such a fast-growing population, and we can sway these elections, not just in North Carolina, but across the country. Something that was interesting is that before NCAAT was founded in 2016, over 80% of the AAPI population had never been contacted about the election, about the 2016 election, by anybody. And so that is a lot of votes that are left on the table. And so once NCAAT was formed, we found that voter outreach in a culturally competent way, with as much language access as possible, has really been instrumental in getting our voter registration and our voter turnout up. NCAAT has also sent out a lot of mailers to every AAPI registered voter statewide this year in nine different languages to try to bridge that gap of language access."

On his projection for AAPI turnout in 2024:

"I think we're expecting a much higher turnout, a continued trend in higher turnout for AAPI voters in North Carolina and the nation. There are a lot of groups like NCAAT and other community organizations that are educating Asian American voters about the importance of turning up at the polls, and how important it is, specifically in North Carolina as a battleground state, that everybody's voice truly matters... And in an election where we have razor-thin margins, every vote, every single vote, truly matters. And so we're trying to stress that with AAPI voters, that we can be the margin of victory in this year's elections."

On whether harassment and threats against the Asian community could impact whether they will vote in person:

"So I think there's always that underlying concern, right? I think that the effects of the pandemic, and that anti-Asian sentiment during that time was very scarring. It has lasting effects in terms of the safety and security that the Asian American community feels. I think that people will understand the gravity of this year's election, and how important it is specifically for North Carolina, being a swing state, to turn out to the polls, and I think that will be a motivating factor for them to either cast their ballot early to avoid some of those issues, or to cast their ballot at the polling locations."