Washington: AARP has released new findings from national surveys exploring the key priorities and concerns of Asian American voters age 50 and older, which show that 93% of them view health care as important heading into the election. Jobs and the economy follow as the second most important issue as per the 2020 Asian American Voter Survey (AAVS), conducted by AAPI Data on behalf of AARP, APIAVote and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC.
According to the National Survey of Older Voters during COVID-19: Asian Americans, conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of AARP, although 86% are “very likely” to vote in 2020, the majority of Asian American voters 50+ are not being engaged or contacted by either party affiliation (61%) or community organizations (74%), according to (AAVS).
“Voter turnout among adults 50-plus, including Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), continues to outpace other age groups every election season,” said Daphne Kwok, Vice President of Multicultural Leadership for AAPI Audience Strategy at AARP. “This will be a crucial voting bloc in 2020, and candidates need to address the issues that matter to them and their families in the closing stretch of the campaign.”
Asian American voters 50-plus are most worried about due to the pandemic: job loss and finding employment (72%), not being able to receive access to health care (48%), and hate crimes, harassment and discrimination (45%).
Additional findings from the surveys include:
· 51% Asian American voters 50+ plan to vote in person, 46% by mail or absentee ballot.
· 46% are concerned about election interference, while 40% worry about their health and safety at the polls.
· On personal or community level, they cited the following as “extremely” or “very” important to them: addressing the coronavirus (83%), securing the future of Social Security (83%) and Medicare (78%), lowering health care costs (78%) and prescription drug costs (77%), and having enough retirement savings (76%)
· Most survey participants (76%) receive their sources of information to help guide voting decisions from media news outlets and talk shows, followed by candidate debates and town halls (50%).
In August, AARP launched “Protect Voters 50+” a voter engagement campaign to help Americans 50-plus vote safely, whether at home or in-person, provide them with information they need about this year’s elections.
For additional community and voter resources, visit aarp.org/AAPI and aarp.org/Election2020.
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age.
