Encouraging the Latino Vote by Ambika Kapur

When the official results of the U.S. 2000 census were released, one news story dominated all others. According to the census, the U.S. Latino community took an enormous leap in a single decade, growing by an astonishing 58 percent to 35.3 million individuals—that's almost 12.5 percent of the U.S population. The figures put Latinos on a par with African Americans, who have historically been the largest U.S. minority group, representing 12.6 percent of the U.S population. The growing presence of the Latino Community will have profound political consequences.

The 2000 census was the first to let individuals identify themselves as being of more than one race. There were 63 possible single and multiple race combinations. Nearly 48 percent of Latinos identified themselves as being only "White," while 42 percent reported being of "Some Other Race," but not in combination with another category. About 6 percent of Hispanics reported being of two or more races. And less than 4 percent of Latinos identified themselves as only "Black or African American."

In terms of nationality, Mexican Americans continue to be the largest group within the Latino population. However, increasing immigration from other Latin American countries has made Latinos the most diverse population in the United States, representing 17 distinct nationalities and cultures of Latin America.

The Hispanic community's rapid rate of growth and diversity are only two aspects of the census figures that have drawn interest. "What really hits you in the face and confirms something those of us in the field have known for a long time is that it's not just the size of the population growth, but where it is growing, " says Rosalind Gold, director of policy, research and advocacy at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. "Hispanics are no longer concentrated in the traditional urban areas or in the states we've traditionally thought of...we're seeing growth in suburban and rural areas, seeing it in places where communities were just starting to emerge and now you have a Latino community that has a place in the political geography of the community."

The fact that Arkansas' Latino population surged by an astounding 337 percent, Nevada's by 216 percent and Indiana's by 117 percent, carries important political implications, says Gold. We can expect these statistics to have a dramatic impact of translating numbers into greater political power, different cultural dynamics, improved services, and above all more attention.

This population growth has also been accompanied by economic contributions. According to a recent study by California's Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, 80% of Latino men are in the labor force. And two in every five new workers hired for jobs in the 1990s were Latino. The Latino middle class has also been growing over the past 20 years with the Latino community now including congressmen, mayors, private executives, high-spending consumers and most significantly, registered voters. Consequently, elected officials, politicians and the business community are suddenly scrambling to win over Latino hearts and purchasing power.

In no other election did candidates court the Latino vote as they did in the 2000 presidential elections. More than 7 million Latinos, or nearly 7% of all voters, voted in 2000. After years of predictions that the nation's fastest-growing ethnic group would become a significant force in politics, Latinos, considered by many as the "sleeping giants" of the American electorate, were finally waking up. Latino voters took the election seriously—71 percent of the eligible Latino voters turned out to cast ballots compared to the national average of 51 percent. Their rise in political power is also evident in the number of Latinos being elected to local, state and federal offices.

Besides a booming population and its economic contributions, another reason for this increase in political power has been political mobilization and education by Latino groups in the U.S. over the past couple of decades. With the increase in population, Latinos encountered various social obstacles, such as anti-immigrant sentiment, the threat of English-only legislation, and lack of adequate health care, education and housing, among other socioeconomic difficulties. The social plight of Hispanics led them to organize into political and nonprofit organizations in key states such as Texas, California, Florida and New York, enabling them to simultaneously increase awareness of the political process, voter registration and mobilization of Latinos. Accordingly, there has been an increase in legislation and representation for Latinos.

Perhaps the largest and latest case in point is California, home to half of the nation's Latinos. In 1994, state voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 187, which outlawed health and education services for illegal immigrants. In 1996, Proposition 209 dismantled affirmative action in state hiring and higher education. "More than anything, these initiatives have made Latinos realize they'd better take a stand for what they believe in," says Ruben Villareal of the South West Voter Registration Project based in Houston.

But analysts cite several caveats to this rising tide of Latino power: lower voting percentages than whites even among registered voters, lack of both wealth and inclination to support their own candidates financially, and lack of cohesiveness between candidates and constituents of different nationalities among the Latino population. Harry Pachon, director of Tomás Rivera Policy Institute in California also worries that soaring U.S. government naturalization fees (up from $95 to $225) will discourage some Latinos from becoming citizens and slow the growth of the Hispanic electorate.

According to the estimates of the Census Bureau, Latinos will become the majority of the population of California by the mid-21st century and the largest ethnic and racial group in the United States. While that growth produces tremendous opportunities for gaining political clout, Latinos, must have appropriate strategies in place to translate their rising numbers into power. For example, even though Latinos currently represent almost 13% of U.S. residents and 7% of voters, there are only 19 Latinos in Congress and there is no Latino senator. "One of the obstacles of modern American elections is overcontacting the frequent voter, instead of the infrequent voter, " says Pachon. Therefore encouraging citizenship and voter registration, and then emphasizing the importance of getting out to vote, must remain priorities for Latino groups. As Latinos comprise a relatively young community, leadership programs must be created to nurture their talents and develop their skills to take on political posts and seek higher office. "The bottom line is that this is a tremendous opportunity to highlight the contributions Latinos make in our economic, social and cultural life and that Latinos now have a chance to continue making those contributions and have them recognized," says Gold.

"The 2000 census pumped new life into the Latino community," says Juan Andrade, president of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. "With greater political power, the Latino community should be able to fight harder for more access to jobs, education, housing, health care and equal opportunities."

Since the 1960s, Carnegie Corporation of New York has supported voter registration, education and mobilization projects that target hard-to-reach voters such as young people, women and minorities. In addition, in the 1980s and early 1990s, the Corporation provided pivotal support to remove structural barriers to voter registration and participation by encouraging "motor voter"—an effort to simplify voter registration procedures. It also supported the expansion of naturalization programs to encourage immigrants to become full and active citizens.

One of the key areas the Corporation has worked on is encouraging voter participation among U.S. Latinos. It has been one of the few consistent funders of Latino-led voter registration and education organizations that have contributed to the increase in Latino voter participation rates over the years.

Following are the stories of grantees who have successfully worked together since the early 1980s to encourage Latino voter empowerment nationally. They are seeking answers to why some within the Latino community do not register to vote, and why others who are registered do not vote, while developing new strategies to increase Latino participation in the electoral process.

Next page: Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project

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