As poll looms, electoral heft of Asian Americans grows

Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing group of eligible voters in the United States over the past 20 years, creating a crucial voting bloc for the candidates in this year's presidential election.

Over the past four years the number of eligible voters who are Asian American rose by about 15 percent, or 2 million people, compared with a rise of 3 percent for all other eligible voters, according to the Pew Research Center in Washington.

Christine Chen, executive director of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, a nonpartisan nonprofit group in Washington dedicated to "engaging, educating and empowering Asian American and Pacific Islander communities", said: "Political parties could be doing more outreach to court the crucial AAPI voting bloc… While there has been some improvement, the data shows AAPI voters are still being underestimated and overlooked by many campaigns."