Politics: Targeting the AAPI Vote for the 2012 Presidential Election

photo: Obama For America Nevada (OFA NV)

Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders (AAPIs) are the fastest growing racial group in the United States,
making AAPI voters a force to be reckoned with as a key constituency group for
the 2012 presidential election. The Obama For America (OFA) campaign is
attempting
to
capture the attention of ethnic voting blocs in various states.

Unfortunately
only
48
percent
of AAPIs turned out to vote in 2008, making them the lowest registered group,
compared to 62 percent of all Americans. Only half of eligible AAPIs are
registered to vote, making AAPIs the lowest racial or ethnic group
recorded. OFA can still remain optimistic though, since 81 percent of
first-time AAPI voters voted for President Obama.

While
mainstream news outlets focused on AAPI Silicon
Valley entrepreneurs as
flashy campaign donors in the already blue state of California, what’s really
at stake for many is outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. AAPI populations
can make a big difference in
battleground
states throughout the country, especially Nevada.

Holding
six
electoral
votes, Nevada is a key swing state to win the presidential election. Nevada
is home to the nation’s fastest growing AAPI population. AAPI
and Latino voters were the margin of swing victory in U.S. Senator Harry Reid’s
run for re-election in Nevada during the 2010 mid-term elections.

Filipino
Americans are the second largest ethnic group in Nevada alone, and make up 4
percent
of
the state’s population
at 98,000 — 86,000 of whom
reside
in
Clark County. Tagalog will be the third language, aside from English and
Spanish, to be used in election materials in Clark County. OFA has a clear
investment in AAPI communities, with a total of seven field offices in Las
Vegas alone, which is located in Clark County.

Some
speculate that because of poor voter turnout during the previous
mid-term
elections, as well as a likely
loss
of white swing independent voters supporting Obama,

You can read the rest of this article at:: http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2012/05/politics-targeting-aapi-vote-2012-presidential-election

Short URL: http://thepresidency.us/?p=16648

Posted by RobertButler on May 31 2012. Filed under 2012 Presidential Campaign. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry