Taeku Lee

Korean Americans have his back, but Robert Lee Ahn will need more to become L.A.’s next congressman

Taeku Lee quoted by Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2017

“Korean Americans in Southern California have been hungry for political representation for a very long time,” said Taeku Lee, a professor of politics and law at UC Berkeley. Lee said the recent campaign that helped propel David Ryu, the first Korean American elected to the L.A. City Council, may have also helped the community learn on-the-ground skills that mobilized voters in the congressional race.

100 years and 16 presidents ago, a look at another anti-immigration act

Taeku Lee quoted by USA Today, Feb. 2, 2017

Taeku Lee … said he senses a similar nativist sentiment today that is driven by a mix of demographic changes, economic insecurity and anxieties about national security. “Today’s fantasied scourge of ‘aliens’ from south of the border and terrorists cloaked in the garb of refugees is the Yellow Peril of the late 19th and early 20th century,” Lee said.

Polls can get Latino, Asian American vote wrong

Taeku Lee quoted by NBC News, Nov. 4, 2016

“Public polling and the exit polls repeatedly get it wrong when it comes to capturing the Asian American electorate, whether by including too few Asian Americans in the sample, failing to conduct interviews in their primary language, or failing to ask about the issues that really matter to Asian Americans,” said Taeku Lee.

Trump risks alienating Asian-Americans, a rising voting force

Taeku Lee quoted by CNBC, July 28, 2016

Lee described the shift as a mix of “push and pull” from the two major American parties. The Democrats have backed policies like immigration reform, expanded health care access and affordable college and made visible appointments of Asian-Americans in key posts. Republicans have acted in ways that are “clearly unwelcoming” to Asian-Americans in those same policy areas, Lee said.

Extensive survey to look at Asian Americans

Taeku Lee quoted by Xinhua, New China, June 2, 2016

“Arguably the nation’s most dynamic and diverse population, the views and experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) remain largely relegated to the shadows,” said Lee. “With data from this quadrennial project, the 2016 NAAS promises to shed critical light on the social, economic and political life and civic engagement of AAPIs.”

Why are Asian-Americans such loyal democrats?

Taeku Lee quoted in The New York Times, Nov. 4, 2015

“Today’s Asian Americans are not only liberal on the expected issues like health care reform, immigration reform, and educational reform, but they also seem to espouse liberal views across a wide range of unexpected issue areas like environmental politics, affirmative action, and the like.”

American elections need help. Here’s how to make them better.

Taeku Lee cited in the Washington Post, January 22, 2014
The appendix also features more than 2,000 pages of testimony and political science research on election administration issues. Scholars such as … Taeku Lee (Berkeley) … testified before the commission. Their research, as well as the testimony of an even greater number of election administrators, was critical in focusing the commission on the facts of election administration as we know them.

Asian Americans turn Democratic

Taeku Lee and Karthick Ramakrishnan write for Los Angeles Times, November 23, 2012

The fact that nearly three out of every four Asian Americans voted for Obama caught most pundits by surprise. Moreover, Asian Americans, who voted in record numbers in 2008, appear to have mobilized an even higher turnout in 2012. Asian Americans are no longer a swing vote or a crouching tiger in the electorate; their political stripes are now distinctly Democratic blue.

A quote from Taeku Lee also appeared in San Francisco Chronicle.