How will the AAPI vote impact the 2024 presidential election in Pennsylvania?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Vivian Chang is the executive director for Asian Americans United based in Chinatown North in Philadelphia.
"What is the organizing potential and how do we activate the potential and power that folks have?" Chang said.
The grassroots nonpartisan organization is focused on harnessing the full potential of voters who will be a major factor in the 2024 election.
Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote tracks AAPI voters. Since 2012, the number of AAPI voters in Pennsylvania has grown by 32%.
"Across Pennsylvania, their data shows there's more than 300,000 eligible AAPI voters, so when we're talking about like elections, that's a huge margin right there," Chang said. "That's just a huge population."
Chang said community members in Philadelphia have expressed concern about anti-Asian hate, safety and inflation.
In a recent CBS poll, some of the top concerns among likely voters in the presidential race share those concerns. Seventy-six percent say inflation is a major factor, and 62% say crime.
Chang says getting AAPI voters to exercise their voice is a challenge, especially with language barriers.
"They don't necessarily feel comfortable voting in English. That's not a knock on them. There is a lot of complicated language," Chang said. "We do a lot of voter registration in Chinatown, the Northeast, just a lot of general education for folks to know, not only how do you access vote by mail, but also what are the rights that you have."
With Vice President Kamala Harris being the first Black and South Asian candidate on the top of a major ticket, will it impact the AAPI vote?
"There is a sense of representation," Chang said. "I think it really depends on what the policy looks like."