Diverse Effects When Using Asian Americans’ First Language in Campaign

• In Event: Poster Session: Racial and Ethnic Politics & Security and MENA Politics
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Racial and Ethnic Politics

Abstract

Previous studies that study ethnic minorities’ voting behaviors focus on the languages used during campaigns, especially after President Obama’s presidential campaigns utilized Hispanic canvassers and won a huge success. Other than the language used in face-to-face campaigning in presidential elections, some congress members also express specific terms to close their relationships with co-ethnic voters (Barreto, 2005; Barreto & Collingwood, 2015). Although politicians also strategically use Spanish to appeal to voters depending on the overall social-political climate toward minorities, Hispanic Americans’ voter turnout rate also increased as politicians started to use Spanish in the campaign (Barreto & Collingwood, 2015; Collingwood, 2020).

Increasing the use of Spanish in campaigning corresponds to the total Hispanic population and the increase in Asian Americans in the U.S. This study focuses on how Asian Americans are contacted by politicians and what specific terms have been used in campaigning toward Asian Americans. In addition, this study also explores whether the language used will affect Asian Americans’ voter turnout.

This study analyzed the influence of languages in use in campaigns on Asian Americans by collecting a total of 1,000 surveys that only focused on Asian Americans with their origins of nations specified, so this study can dive deeper into the influence of campaigning in Asian Americans’ first languages. This survey also collected information regarding what approach Asian Americans are contacted by politicians, family discussions on politics, and what cultural terms they have ever heard that will increase their willingness to vote.

The finding shows that the voter turnouts of Asian Americans do not necessarily change when they are contacted by their first languages. Only when the first languages of Asian Americans are aligned with the languages used at home do their voter turnout rates increase. In addition, mentioning different cultural terms will only partially increase Asian Americans’ willingness to vote; not all Asian Americans will consider candidates mentioning cultural terms when appealing to voters.

This study shows the opposite tendencies of previous studies on the influence of using Hispanics when appealing to Hispanic voters that language in use only has limited influences on Asian Americans’ voting behaviors. The finding of this study partially explains why Asian American politicians focus more on economic issues than on ethnicity when disseminating messages in public (Tsai, 2024).

Author

• Shu-An Tsai, SUNY Buffalo