Few US Asians, Pacific Islanders say democracy is working well: Survey

Very few people in the Asian American and Pacific Islanders community say democracy is working well, according to a new survey.

According to the poll — conducted jointly by AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research — 68 percent of respondents believe the country is heading in the wrong direction.

Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults, only 12 percent say democracy is working well in the United States and 17 percent have confidence in people running state government. Even fewer are confident about the Supreme Court and the executive branch, and only 4 percent are confident in Congress.

Three-quarters of respondents said they think the views of ordinary citizens should be an important factor in shaping policy in the U.S.

Generally, adults in the Asian American and Pacific Islanders community approve of President Biden more than the average population, but not by much. Partisan differences persist within the community, the survey found Democrats tend to favor Biden more than Republicans.

The survey found adults are not very optimistic about the future of either the Democratic or Republican parties.

“The survey also disentangles the political leanings of AAPI communities,” the survey said.

Fifty-two percent of respondents identified as Democrats, 27 percent identified as Republican and about 21 percent said they were independent or did not have a party affiliation.

Respondents, generally, said they were “very” or “somewhat” pessimistic about the Republican Party and felt mixed about the future of the Democratic Party.

Almost all, 83 percent, of respondents said they were concerned about misinformation in the upcoming election. Forty-six percent of respondents were worried about voter suppression, and 31 percent were worried about voter fraud. Limitations on free speech were another concern, 41 percent of respondents said.

The survey was conducted Nov. 6-15 and was offered in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Korean among 1,113 adults. The margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.