AANHPI Month Is Almost Half Over, How Does May Feel So Far?

by Emil Guillermo

In Hawaii, it may seem like its AANHPI Month every month. But on the mainland, May is when we make sure everyone knows we’re here, that we count, that we matter.

Too often people forget. And that includes even us.

So, as we approach the half-way point of the month, how does it feel? Are you empowered? Do you feel like a full participant in America? Or do you feel left out?

Those are among the reasons for AANHPI, Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. AANHPI is not a social term; it’s purely political.

The name reeks of inclusion, and yet there’s so many more of us we don’t see in the name. It’s a prompt to make sure we remember the incredible potential of our large, diverse community.

We’re more than 25 million strong. And as I like to point out, if you include West Asians, like Arab Americans, at around 5 million strong, our numbers are around 30 million plus.

How can U.S. policy makers ignore a coalition of 30 million people that have all of Asia as their common ground? They can’t.

Unless we don’t vote.

And this is our real power, especially in 2024.If you’re not registered to vote, do so. And if you don’t have voting as an automatic things like California’s permanent vote by mail, sign up. That way, you don’t have to worry about long lines, or all the other reasons that keep people from voting. Like forgetting.

Make it a priority to fulfill the democracy part of being an American.

Then, after greeting people saying Happy Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, make sure they know the significance of our coalition—as a political force of voters.The numbers are clear. Around 15 million Asian Americans are projected to be eligible to vote in 2024.

This is an increase of 15% from 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s a larger projected increase than for Hispanics (12%) and Blacks (7%).

Asian Americans went from 3% of the electorate in 2000 to double that in a generation.

A lot of talk this year has centered so far on Black and Hispanic voters defecting from the Democrats in 2024. Hardly any talk about the Asian American vote. So, let’s start talking.

Seventy-two percent of English-speaking, single race, non-Hispanic Asian voters went for Joe Biden in 2020 vs. 28% who voted for Donald Trump, according to Pew. Will we see Asian Americans continue to show up for Biden at the 72% level, or will that number erode? Biden can’t afford to lose any votes anywhere.

Considering the efforts of Biden in the past year from day one to be inclusive about Asian Americans, I have a hard time seeing our community turning from Biden.

If anything, the numbers may go higher if Republican members of our community (around 30%) understand what’s at stake and abandon Trump.

The list of White House initiatives to help Asian Americans is long. I don’t think there was even a web page for Asian Americans during the Trump White House.

Just think about how Donald Trump treated his lone Asian American cabinet member Elaine Chao, and see if there’s any reason for MAGA-AANHPIs to stick with their 2020 choice.

Here are some key things about Asian American eligible voters that are also worth noting.

We’re 6% of the electorate, which means as a bloc, it has the potential to be a real swing vote.

When you see poll numbers at a dead heat with the margin of error at 3-5%, imagine Asian Americans making up the difference. That’s how critical our vote is.

Gender-wise, the demographic breakdown is also significant: 53% women, 47% men. Which party has women’s best interests at heart?

By age, 22% of us are 18-29 years old. The biggest demo is 30-49 at 36%. Add ages 50-64 at 23% and the core 30-64 working age demo is almost 60% of our community.

The wise owl 65-plus community is at 18%. We are younger community than we think.The majority of us are also naturalized citizens, 56%, vs. U.S. born at 44%. Asian America was created by the 1965 Immigration Act.

For me this is always where I see some of the biggest fissures within our community. Who was pushing for affirmative action and who was against?

Naturalized citizens, immigrants generally led the fight against affirmative action. It remains a flash point. Might it also define a new dividing line between Asian American red and blue?

One other distinction about the Asian American voter is that we do like education. 74% of us fall in the spectrum of having two-year degrees, some college, bachelor’s or some post-graduate degrees. Compare that to all U.S. adults at just 64%.

So this month, let’s do the fun cultural things; share our stories, our food, all the Asian parts. Celebrate us all. But don’t forget to ponder the inclusiveness of the term AANHPI, our political umbrella in this critical 2024 year.

The umbrella is our tool. We can stay dry and weather all the storms, but only if we stand together and vote our common interests.

EMIL GUILLERMO is a journalist and commentator. In Hawaii, he wrote columns and was an editorial board member of the biggest newspaper in the state. In Washington, DC, he was the first Filipino to host a national news program while at NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Contact him at www.amok.com.