APIA Voters... the new political sleepin' giant.

Asian voters' dormant power

Language, cultures hinder political clout

By Patricia Jiayi Ho Staff Writer
Pasadena Star-News

A UCLA report released Thursday describes Asian Americans as the new "sleeping giant" in California politics, pointing to the ethnic group's increased population and citizenship rate in the past five years.

However, when compared with white and African-American populations, Asian Americans are still less likely to register to vote, the study said.

"We've gone through that first hurdle - getting a sizeable population that is eligible to vote," said Paul Ong, who compiled the data and is a professor with UCLA's School of Public Affairs. "The real challenge is now translating that number into registered voters who go and vote."

Asian Americans made up 12 percent of the state's eligible voters in 2005, up from 10 percent in 2000, the study found.

That represents an increase from 2 million to 2.5 million Asian Americans who are both citizens and 18 years old or older, according to the report, which looked at data from U.S. Census Bureau counts and the recently released 2005 American Community Survey.

Despite the increases, Asian Americans do not have the political clout their numbers would suggest. Only 52 percent of Asians who are eligible to vote have done so, compared with 71 percent of whites, 64percent of blacks, and 54percent of Latinos.

Part of the barrier to engaging Asian Americans in politics is language, said Sharon Owyang, executive director of the Center for Asian American United For Self Empowerment in Pasadena.

"We have a multitude of languages under the `Asian American' rubric," she said.

Besides Chinese and its assorted dialects, there are Southeast Asian languages such as Thai, Lao, Khmer and Vietnamese that present communication challenges.

Another reason for low voter-registration rates may be cultural. Recent immigrants may be more accustomed to an autocratic tradition than a democratic one, said former Monterey Park Mayor Lily Lee Chen.

In Asian countries, "politics was something far away from the real people," Chen said. "The basic idea of serving the people, providing services, representing the voice of the people is different. When you are a ruler, you are powerful, you can do harm."

Chinese Americans - the largest Asian subgroup in the San Gabriel Valley - have not had the kinds of galvanizing political battles that other ethnic groups have experienced, Chen noted.

Assemblywoman Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, said the report makes clear that there need to be more services targeted to Asian Americans and elected officials who will represent the needs of the community.

"It's an opportunity to make sure that Asian Americans can increase in influence and in clout," Chu said.

Martin Truitt, a Pasadena political consultant, said one reason Asian Americans may find it harder to form coalitions to exert political influence is the communities are not homogenous.

"There's just such a disparity," Truitt said. "Fifth-generation Japanese and new immigrants from Mainland China - Where's the commonality?"

Asian Americans also practice different religions, have been in the country for varying periods of time, and may remember animosity toward their former neighbors, he said.

"Over time, you may see an Asian coalition \ cultural differences fall away," Truitt said. "But in California the immigration rate is so high, that the dream is deferred."

The report also found that of the general Asian-American population, the proportion that are citizen adults increased from 67 percent to 71 percent from 2000 to 2005.

The growth in the potential Asian American electorate continues a pattern that began in the 1990s. In 1990, of all the adult citizens in the state, Asian American's comprised about

6 percent. If trends continue, that figure will increase to 14 percent by 2010, the report stated.

patricia.ho@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4586