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Asian American Voters 50+ Are Concerned About Safety and Health Care in 2022

Older Asian American voters are engaged and motivated.

Asian American voters are engaged and want to cast their vote to make a difference in the outcomes of the mid-term election, according to a recent analysis by AARP Research. The majority either feel more enthusiastic or equally enthusiastic about voting this November as in previous elections.

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Personal safety is a concern for many of these voters. An alarming 73% worry at least sometimes about experiencing hate crimes, harassment, and discrimination, a marked increase from the 45% who were worried about this issue in 2020. More than one in four worry very often about personally experiencing hate crime, harassment, or discrimination. Perhaps related to this sense of vulnerability, crime is the most-cited issue in deciding how to vote.

Asian American voters age 50 and over are also worried about not having Medicare coverage and financial stability in retirement. Health care is among the top issues Asian Americans age 50-plus feel are important in deciding how to vote, and a majority would support a candidate who advocates spending federal funds on home- and community-based services for elderly and/or disabled people. A campaign that focuses on Asian American voters of any age should speak to voter concerns about health care and health-related services for elderly and/or disabled family members.

A sizeable share of older Asian American voters is unaffiliated with either of the two major political parties, and many do not have an opinion about which party is doing a better job on the issues. Few have been contacted directly about election or campaign information, and television is the most common source of news. All candidates have an opportunity to speak to these voters on the issues they care about. 

Methodology

Data are based on a sample of n=741 Asian American registered voters age 50-plus interviewed between April 19 and June 19, 2022. Interviews were conducted via cell phone, landline, and online. Respondents were offered a choice of participating in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, or Korean.

For more information, please contact Angela Houghton at ahoughton@aarp.org. For media inquiries, please contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.