Panethnicity and Voter Turnout: A Look Into Asians and Hispanic-Latinos in the 2020 Election

Abstract

Voter turnout remains one of the most sought after questions in political science. In recent years, the United States has witnessed a surge in eligible voters participating in elections with an all-time high voter turnout rate occurring during the 2020 election. Perhaps most surprising is that Asians and Hispanic-Latinos also turned out to vote at an astonishingly high rate. Often thought of as apolitical or “sleeping giants”, why did Asians and Hispanic-Latinos turn out to vote in mass droves in 2020? This paper seeks to address possible voting indicators amongst Asian and Hispanic-Latinos, and in particular, focus on the relation that Asian panethnicity and Hispanic-Latino panethnicity have on voter turnout. To measure Asian and Hispanic-Latino panethnicity in the 2020 election, Asian discrimination, Hispanic discrimination, Asian linked fate, and Hispanic linked fate are utilized and analyzed to demonstrate, if any, relation to voter turnout for each respective population. Using a logistic regression model and data from the 2020 American National Election Survey, I find that only linked fate among Hispanic-Latinos is significant and correlated to voter turnout meaning that Hispanic-Latinos with high levels of linked fate are much more likely to vote than Hispanic-Latinos with low levels of linked fate.