Our Chicago: Asian American & Latino Voters and the Presidential Election

Sunday, September 29, 2024 9:49AM CT
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The fastest growing group of eligible voters in the U.S is Asian Americans, according to the Pew Research Center.



The second fastest group are Latino voters. An estimated 36.2 million Latinos are eligible to vote in the November election. That's up nearly 4 million people since 2020.

However, voter registration among both of these groups of voters lags behind White voter registration.

Part 1 - Our Chicago: Asian American & Latino Voters and the Presidential Election


"I think one of the biggest issues is actually language access. When you look at the Asian American community, you have over 50 percent of individuals that speak a language other than English. And I think access is a real challenge for a lot of individuals," Vice President of Community Impact with the Chinese American Service League Thy Nguyen said.



Nguyen added that voters need election materials in their language.

Jose Marco-Paredes is Vice President of Civic Engagement with the Latino Policy Forum.

Marco-Paredes said there are three key reasons that Latino voter registration lags behind that of White Voters.

Latino voters tend to be younger, compared to other racial and ethnic groups, "and youth are less reliable voters."



When it comes to the candidates, Democrat Kamala Harris is the first Asian-American woman at the top of a major party ticket. But does that carry weight with Asian-American voters?

"I think it definitely does," Nguyen said. "I think it's certainly creating a level of excitement that we're seeing in the community. A recent survey that came out from AAPI stated that 77 percent of Asian-American voters really do identify with one's culture and background. So, the fact that Kamala Harris is South Asian I think is really resonating with voters."

However, Nguyen said that given the diversity within the Asian-American community while there is a level of excitement, it is a little more complex.

Part 2 - Our Chicago: Asian American & Latino Voters and the Presidential Election


Both Asian-Americans and Latinos will be voting on issues of concerns to all Americans.



"All the polls have shown that the Latino community cares about the same issues that anyone else. Kitchen table issues. Economy, inflation, am I going to be able to put food on my table? Are my kids going to have a good education," Marco-Paredes said.

"I think the issues that really matter are the same," Nguyen said about the Asian-American community. "It's affordable healthcare, employment, jobs. Those things really matter."

Early voters may choose to vote in one of 12 languages according to the Chicago Board of Elections website: English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Polish, Korean, Tagalog, Gujarati, Urdu, Arabic, Ukrainian, and Russian.

Early Voting in Downtown Chicago will start on Thursday, October 3 at 9:00am and run through Election Day (Nov. 5) at the Voting Supersite (191 N. Clark) and Board Offices (69 W. Washington St. - 6th Floor).
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