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Survey reveals voting habits among Hmong
By The Associated Press 10/19/06
WAUSAU, Wis. — About two-thirds of Marathon County’s Southeast Asian population consider voting important, according to a new survey.
“The report tells us that we need to work harder to get people to become citizens first of all and then to get out to vote,” said Peter Yang, executive director of the Wausau Area Hmong Mutual Association.
Kids Voting USA-Wisconsin, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Wausau that teaches kids about elections and the importance of voting, surveyed 334 Southeast Asian people who are American citizens and eligible to vote in Marathon County. The survey was done between late July and Oct. 8.
Executive Director Sarah Miller said Wednesday the $11,000 survey will be used to further the group’s goal of educating all citizens on the importance of political participation.
Sixty-two percent of the respondents said they consider voting important, while 25 percent said it was somewhat important. Fifth-two percent said they have voted in the past and 46 percent said they have no preference in a political party.
The inability of many older Hmong to speak English may be one barrier that explains why more of them who are now citizens don’t consider voting important, Miller said.
The survey, done by Southeast Asian students at the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County, involved both personal visits to homes and follow-up telephone calls. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percent, said Eric Giordano, a professor of political science at the two-year college who coordinated the study.
Community foundations and businesses contributed the money for the survey, Miller said.
Giordano said the survey could be used as a benchmark to measure the effectiveness of educational and outreach programs.
There were about 4,500 Hmong residents in Marathon County, making it the second largest Hmong community in Wisconsin, according to 2000 Census reports cited in the survey. Milwaukee County has 7,900 Hmong residents.