“I know voting is important, but don’t feel it”

Nov. 8, 2016

BOSTON – Julie Jung, a Korean-American voter, showed up at the Jackson Mann Community Center polling site in Allston to perform her civic duty on Tuesday.

But personally, she did not care much for it.

“We are electing people who are going to run the government, it is important. I don't feel it, but I know it is important,” she said.

According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, 55.3 percent of Asian-Americans registered to vote this year compared to 73.5 percent of white, 69.7 percent of black and 59.4 percent of Hispanics voters.

“Maybe we (Asian-Americans) think that our vote don’t really matter or we can’t affect a change,” Jung said.

Ricky Liu, an Allston voter of Chinese heritage said the majority of Asian-Americans are in middle class, which might affect their decisions.

“Especially in this election, I think the policies are going to affect people at the upper end or lower end. If candidates include policies that Asian-Americans care about, you will see more of their votes,” he said.

Biau Wong, an Allston voter and a second-generation immigrant from China, said his parents did not vote.

“I think they aren’t informed. They think both candidates are idiots, because they usually get their news from Chinese media, which has their biases,” Wong said.

“And a lot of Asian families I know are not interested in politics. People are encouraged by parents to take care of themselves. Such families don't do anything unless the issue directly involves them,”he said.

Frank Poon believes the lack of participation is part of a cycle of neglect. Asian voters aren’t engaged by politicians because Asian citizens are believed less likely to vote, he said. He is the president of Chinese-American Citizen Right Alliance, an organization aiming at encouraging Chinese-Americans to care for public affairs.

Asian-Americans are still reluctant voters, but less so compared with their turn-out rates in previous general elections.

According to the United States Census Bureau statistics, in 2012, 47.3 percent of Asians registered to vote. In 2008, the rate was 47.6 percent. But in 2004, it was just 44.2 percent.

Biau Wong voted for Clinton and “Yes on 2,” while Julie Jung, a public school teacher, voted against the charter school proposal. Jonathan Lim, a Korean-American voter said he was concerned about the presidential candidates’ honesty, but a female Chinese voter said she was just excited to choose a woman president.

They had different concerns and choices, but they all said they wanted to have their voices in public issues.

“I did check with everyone I know and asked them to vote. I made sure that my family, my parents, my relatives remembered to register and vote. That’s really important,” a Chinese female voter said. She declined to identify herself.

For Poon, sometimes this kind of persuasion could be of little effect. On Nov. 8, one of his friends said he was tired, some others said they did not understand the ballot questions.

But Poon persevered. He said even though Asian voters may not gain immediate benefits from their votes, they would benefit their descendants.

“I want to encourage people: don't worry about anything,” he said. “What you do is to increase our power.”