NAKASEC conducted the Korean American Exit Poll with affiliates in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York on primary election days.From the three cities, staff members and volunteers collected 291 surveys — a low number reflecting the low voter turnout for the primaries. Interesting preliminary findings include: 69.5% of Los Angeles voters were over 65 years old, 53.4% of Los Angeles voters needed bilingual assistance but were unaware of the availability, 39% of New York voters used interpreter services provided by the Board of Elections, 92% of Chicago voters were Korean speakers.
Moreover, NAKASEC found that among the three cities, concern for immigrant rights and civil rights was the number one factor in influencing Korean Americans’ vote for their respective party nominee.Especially in Los Angeles, 69% of the voters stated that immigrant rights and civil rights determined their voting decision.More interestingly, in a question stated in New York’s exit poll questionnaire, 59.6% of Korean Americans felt that the war in Iraq was getting worse while 19.1% thought it was getting better and 21.3% felt the situation was the same.
NAKASEC will conduct the Korean American Exit Poll again during general elections and plan to expand to other cities in the US that have significant Korean American voting populations.
