FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2000
Public Information Office CB00-138
301-457-3013/301-457-3670 (fax)
301-457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail: pio@census.gov
Jennifer Day
301-457-2464
Number of Asian and Pacific Islanders Casting Ballots Up
"Significantly," Census Bureau Study Says
The number of Asians and Pacific Islanders voting in congressional
elections increased by 366,000 between 1994 and 1998 to 1.4 million
voters, according to new analysis today of a recent report by the Commerce
Department's Census Bureau.
"While the number of voters nationwide dropped by 2.6 million, the
number of Asian and Pacific Islanders going to the polls went up
significantly between the 1994 and 1998 elections," said Jennifer Day,
co-author of Voting and Registration in the Election of November 1998, a
report released in July.
Day noted that the number of Asian and Pacific Islander citizens of
voting age increased from 2.6 million in 1994 to 4.3 million in 1998.
The turnout rate for Asian and Pacific Islander citizens of voting age
was 39 percent in 1994 and 32 percent in 1998. Nationally, the voter
turnout rate for all U.S. citizens of voting age fell from 48 percent in
1994 to 45 percent in 1998, which was the lowest participation rate
recorded since the Census Bureau began collecting voting and registration
data in 1964.
Data on Asians and Pacific Islanders in this report do not include
individuals of Hispanic origin, who may be of any race. The data were
collected in the November 1998 Current Population Survey (CPS) two weeks
after the election. As in all surveys, data are subject to sampling
variability and other sources of errors. The CPS routinely overestimates
voter turnout. Possible reasons include understatement of actual votes
cast; overreporting by survey respondents who want to demonstrate their
civic responsibility; misreporting of voting because of refusals or lack
of knowledge on the part of proxy respondents; and survey undercoverage.
Table 1. Citizen Voting-Age Population, Number Voted, and Percent Voted,
1994 and 1998 (Numbers in thousands)
Voting-Age Population|Number Voted | Percent Voted
1994 1998 1994 1998 1994 1998
Citizens 18 years and older
Total 177,260 183,451 85,702 83,098 48.3 45.3
White 151,432 155,369 75,769 71,871 50.0 46.3
Black 20,829 22,074 8,095 9,223 38.9 41.8
Asian and 2,684 4,422 1,057 1,431 39.4 32.4
Pacific Islander
Hispanic * 10,350 12,396 3,522 4,068 34.0* 32.8*
White non Hispanic 142,357 143,650 72,614 68,068 51.0 47.4
Black non Hispanic 20,662 21,613 8,048 9,044 39.0 41.8
Asian and Pacific 2,632 4,344 1,038 1,404 39.4 32.3
Islander non Hispanic
*Percent voted in 1994 and 1998 not significantly different.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey.
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