About 65 percent of voters of Asian descent statewide voted in favor of the temporary increase on state income and sales taxes to help pay for public education, according to a first-of-its kind post- election poll released today by a Los Angeles-based advocacy group.
The poll done by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, with help from the National Asian American Survey, showed 76 percent of California voters of Asian descent supported raising state income taxes on the wealthy.
"Discussions in California around Proposition 30 and the state budget crisis set the stage for today's national debate around the 'fiscal cliff,"' APALC President Stewart Kwoh said. "These data show that Asian Americans support taxation proposals like President Obama's that ask wealthy Americans to pay their fair share."
Seventy percent of 1,800 people polled voted for President Barack Obama, according to the poll.
The poll found Obama's immigration policies, including the president's executive order in June aimed at preventing the deportation of qualified undocumented young immigrants and providing them with two-year work permits, played an important role in their decision.
The post-election poll was done in English, Spanish and seven Asian languages, including Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese.
The poll is being expanded to encompass the views of some 5,000 Asian American voters statewide. APALC plans to release county-level data for Los Angeles and Orange counties, as well as Alameda, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties.
APALC released the poll results during a morning news conference in Los Angeles.
