Latino Voters
The National Council of La Raza is the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., and they recently released a report highlighting the role that Latinos will play in some key 2010 midterm elections, especially in races in California, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Illinois.
The report details such items as voter turnout expectations, a profile of the electorate, and an outline of voter priorities among the Latino community. While it is a very informative report that can be read in full at the above link, there are some very interesting items to highlight.
According to the report: ”More than one-third of the Hispanic population, or 16.7 million, is under the age of 18 and thus not eligible to vote, compared with 22% for the non-Hispanic population. However, 93% of Latinos under age 18 are U.S. citizens, and each year 500,000 come of age, making this cohort a major source fueling Latino voter growth for years to come and elevating the importance of effective youth participation strategies.”
While the rate of participation in the voting process still lags among Latinos, this bloc of voters is making significant strides in both the concentration of registered voters in very important battleground states, and also the fact that that the Latino electorate is showing the largest growth rate for registration of any other segment of the U.S. population.
The Latino electorate, combined with the growth of the Latino population nationally, is emerging as a significant factor in states that are not traditionally thought of as major Latino population centers. The NCLR website has more information.
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