APIA Vote
Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIA Vote) is a nonprofit born out of years of Asian-American organizing. The group engages Asian and Pacific Islander Americans to help them register to vote, cast a ballot at election time and increase their voice in civic life. APIA Vote also works to advance democracy reforms, combat disinformation that targets the AAPI community and train young leaders.
Why This Work is Important
The Asian voting population is growing quickly. Between 2014, the number of registered AAPI voters increased from 6.6 million to 10 million. While these voters still make up a small share of all voters, that share has increased markedly in battleground states — rising from 1% in 2014 to 2% in 2022 in Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan, and from 5% to 8% in Nevada. Such gains are significant given how close elections are in these states.
Asian Americans still vote at lower levels than other groups. Turnout by eligible AAPI voters lagged below turnout rates for the electorate as a whole in 2020 and 2o22, but this gap is closing. AAPI turnout jumped from 49% in 2016 to 59% in 2020 — an increase that was even larger in some battleground states like Georgia, where the AAPI turnout increased by 84% over 2016, helping secure victories for Joe Biden and Democratic senate candidates.
AAPI voters are a growing part of the Democratic coalition, but that support isn’t a given. While AAPI voters — especially younger ones — heavily favor Democrats, there are some signs that this support may be wavering. Nationally, AAPI support for Democratic candidates declined by 7 points between 2020 and 2022, while that falloff was steeper in certain states and cities and among some parts of the AAPI population.
Why Donors Should Consider APIA Vote
APIA Vote has demonstrated growth and success. APIA is the leading organization engaging Asian-American voters and it has significantly grown its size in reach since 2016. APIA distributed $1 million to partner organizations in 2022 for their civic engagement programs.
The group works hard to meet the diverse needs of the AAPI community. A majority of AAPI voters are naturalized citizens who were not born in the U.S. With so many countries and languages represented in the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, language access and basic outreach are challenging. That’s why APIA Vote puts many resources toward translation and research, which allows the group to understand the needs of its target demographics and engage with a high level of cultural competence.
It’s invested in the future with robust youth programs. APIA Vote seeks to build the Asian community’s political power with educational and advocacy programs for younger members. Through the Youth Ambassador Program, Youth Summit and its internships, APIA gives young adults experience as leaders in places like college campuses and beyond.
Conclusion
Engaging and mobilizing AAPI voters requires a high level of knowledge and experience. APIA Vote has cultivated that capacity over many years, even as both the Democratic Party and most major progressive electoral groups have remained ill-equipped to connect effectively with these voters.
While APIA Vote is not a partisan organization — it’s a 501(c)(3) and donations are tax-deductible — it’s played a key role in meaningfully engaging a key left-leaning demographic group in the civic process, helping to bolster Democratic electoral fortunes.