Carnegie Reporter, Vol. 1, No. 3 | Encouraging the Latino Vote, page 2

Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project

Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP) is a nonprofit Latino civic education organization. Founded in San Antonio, Texas, in 1974 by William C. Velásquez, leader of the Mexican American voting rights movement, SVREP has been serving communities in the Southwest for more than 20 years. The organization first opened its doors in California in 1984 to increase statewide political and civic participation of Latinos.

SVREP is committed to educating Latino communities across the Southwest about the democratic process, the importance of voter registration, and voter participation. At its core is its mission to politically empower Latinos by increasing civic engagement in the American electoral system, which they believe can be attained through strengthening the right to vote. This resonates in their motto— "Su Voto es Su Voz" (Your Vote is Your Voice).

SVREP works closely with a consortium of sister organizations like the William C. Velásquez Institute (WCVI), a research center on Latino population data also founded by Velásquez; and the Latino Academy, SVREP's training school designed to instruct community leaders, activists and elected officials in the areas of public speaking governance, leadership, fundraising and campaiging.

SVREP has conducted more than 2,200 voter registration campaigns in 14 states and successfully undertaken more than 100 voting rights litigations. The Los Angeles office alone oversees a network of more than 30,000 Latino civic leaders and activists in five states who over the last 25 years have conducted get-out-the-vote projects in more than 250 cities across the southwest. Since its inception, SVREP has trained over 100,000 volunteers in over fourteen states increasing overall civic involvement.

While SVREP's primary mission is voter registration and education, over the last ten years SVREP has become increasingly active in economic empowerment for Latinos. SVREP also works on immigration issues; community organizing; education and training of community leaders and elected officials; U.S. foreign and international policy development; and accountability of elected officials.

SVREP's messages and efforts address broad-based human concerns that cross cultural barriers and could apply to other minority groups as well. Through the use of telecommunications technologies and the media, SVREP hopes to continue providing voter outreach and education, increase civic and economic participation and strengthen the increasing Latino electorate.

For more information about SVREP, visit www.svrep.org to see the progress that SVREP has made in strengthening the Latino political presence.

The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute

Founded in 1985, the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) conducts social science research about policy issues affecting Latino communities and disseminates this information to policymakers, public and private sector representatives, journalists and prominent leaders of the Latino community. TRPI has been acquiring national recognition for its work in the field of education, immigration policy, information technology and civic and social research. Through its capacity to conduct primary and secondary data analysis, TRPI works to fill the void in information that exists among policymakers and political leaders regarding the complexities that characterize the U.S. Latino population—its heterogeneous composition, its bilingualism and its diverse native heritage.

TRPI conducts in-depth analyses of Latino voting trends in an effort to bring clarity to Latino perceptions and experiences in the electoral process. For example, Latino citizens in California and Texas were surveyed by the Institute to assess 1996 pre-election voter attitudes regarding the presidential candidates, party affiliations and pertinent public policy issues such as the California Civil Rights Initiative, Proposition 209. Work of this nature enables TRPI to give a voice to the Latino community and allow elected officials and civic leaders the opportunity to focus their efforts on issues that concern their constituencies.

The Institute is affiliated with the Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California, and the University of Texas at Austin, giving TRPI access to a network of nationally recognized scholars who carry out an array of research projects under the direction of TRPI's leadership.

For more information on Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, visit www.trpi.org.

United States Hispanic Leadership Institute

The United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI), which until 1996 was called the Midwest-Northeast Voter Registration Education Project, was founded in Chicago in 1982. As its former name implies, its original mission focused on providing nonpartisan information on candidates and issues for Latino voters in seventeen states. More recently USHLI has developed into a nationally recognized Latino organization by promoting and conducting nonpartisan voter registration and leadership development programs in forty states. USHLI now maintains a stable presence in many communities around the country by empowering minorities for civic awareness and participation in the electoral process.

USHLI offers educational and leadership development programs for high school and college students, grassroots community leaders, local public officials and candidates for public office. Over 185,000 past, present and future leaders have participated in USHLI's local, regional and national leadership development programs.

USHLI is lead by Dr. Juan Andrade, one of the only two Latino recipients of a Presidential Medal for "the performance of exemplary deeds for the nation" in leadership development and civic participation.

For more information about USHLI visit their website at www.ushli.com.

* Latino and Hispanic have been used interchangeably throughout the article.