In 2012, Asian American Pacific Islanders were 7.4% of Washington State’s citizen voting age population (CVAP). From 200-2010, the AAPI CVAP grew by 43% as compared to only a 14% growth rate for the state. 61% of Asian Americans in Washington speak a language other than English at home. This fact creates a barrier to voting.
In King County, Vietnamese and Chinese make up more than 5% of the population, thus making language access to voting mandatory under the Federal Voting Rights Law. Vietnamese and Chinese-speaking voters can register to vote, get their ballot and King County voter pamphlet in their own language.