Home › National
Latino groups are seeking to mobilize, register voters
Download this story as a podcast!
STORY TOOLS 
More from NationalLOS ANGELES — For years now, the metaphor that political strategists and commentators fall back on to describe the millions of Latino voters in the United States has been "the sleeping giant."
On Friday at the National Latino Congreso conference in downtown Los Angeles, no one uttered that phrase, except in attempts to debunk it.
"This is our moment," Angel Luevano, regional vice president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said at the outset of the three-day conference. "We are no longer a sleeping giant."
That's the hope, anyway, among the hundreds of conference delegates.
Most represent Latino political and civic groups such as LULAC, the Mexican American Political Association and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund.
With presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain going to unprecedented lengths to court the Latino vote — both spoke to the national Council of La Raza last weekend — Latino leaders think 2008 will be the year their community breaks through as a crucial demographic in many swing states.
An alliance of groups at Latino Congreso, led by the Southwest Voter Registration & Education Project, is using the event to launch a voter registration drive. It wants to register 1 million to 2 million new Latino voters by the November election, to bring the nationwide total to 12 million registered voters.
Antonio Gonzalez, president of the project, said the group will register voters in about 20 states and is prepared to spend $5 million. The effort will focus on swing states and areas with competitive congressional races.
"This is the first time we've had presidential candidates with an understanding, even a limited one, of our community and a real desire for our votes," said John Trasvina, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund. "The path to the White House is going to go through Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida, and we're going to make the difference in those states."
Latino vote' a misnomer
The difficulty in trying to mobilize the Latino vote is that there really is no such thing, say academics who study ethnicity and voting behavior.
"I don't really know what people are talking about when they say, Latino voters,' " said Mark Sawyer, a UCLA political science professor and director of the university's Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics. "There is no single Latino vote, there are Latino votes. There are multiple discernible blocks."
Latinos as a whole usually vote for Democrats, but the patterns vary widely among ethnic and regional subgroups. Mexican-Americans in California and the Southwest lean somewhat Democratic. Puerto Ricans in New York are heavily Democratic, while Cuban Americans in Florida are mostly Republicans, Sawyer said.
Even the "sleeping giant" generalization isn't true, he said. It comes from a common perception that voter turnout among Latinos is low. In California, for example, Latinos make up 36 percent of the population but just 18 percent of voters, according to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials.
But the statistic loses significance when you factor in age, income and citizenship, Sawyer said. In other words, Latinos do vote in lower numbers, but only because they tend to be younger, poorer and less likely to be citizens than the population at large.
"Once they become citizens and once they get older, they're not that much different than any other group," said Ricardo Ramirez, a USC political science professor who also studies ethnicity and voting. "It always takes young people some time to get involved."
Latinos do tend to have a few things in common politically, Ramirez said. The most obvious is education, which is consistently a high priority for Latinos, both liberal and conservative.
"That could be because Latino families tend to be younger and have young kids in school," Ramirez said.
This year, the top priorities of Latino voters are the same as those of everyone else: the economy and the war in Iraq, Gonzalez said during Latino Congreso's opening news conference Friday.
Despite those common issues, however, candidates do need a specific strategy for the Latino vote, Gonzalez said. It should amount to three things: a willingness to appear in front of Latino groups like La Raza; substantive policy proposals in areas Latinos care about; and a willingness to spend money campaigning directly to Latinos, in both English and Spanish.
"So far, we've seen them appearing at events, but we haven't seen the money on the ground," said Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association.
Polls show Obama with a huge lead over McCain among Latinos — much wider than the margins Democrats won among Latinos in 2000 or 2004. The most recent New York Times/CBS News poll put the numbers at 62 percent for Obama and 23 percent for McCain.
But that doesn't mean McCain should give up, Lopez said.
A balancing act
"To be competitive with Obama, McCain doesn't need to win Latinos," he said. "He only needs to get up to about 35 percent."
Of course, all candidates must do a balancing act when reaching out to a new demographic, to keep from alienating their existing bases. For McCain, the trick seems especially tough. Many Republicans are hawks on illegal immigration and see McCain's appeals to Latino voters as a sign that he won't pursue strict border-control policies.
On Friday, about a half-dozen people protested against illegal immigration outside the Westin Bonaventure, the hotel that hosted the Latino Congreso. One held a sign that said, "McCain Works for the Cheap Labor Lobby."
Political scientist Sawyer said earlier in the week that McCain seems to have trouble connecting with Latino voters as much as George W. Bush did. Bush, however, won about 40 percent of the Latino vote in 2004, a good performance for a Republican and a total that would be "outstanding" for McCain, Sawyer said.
"I think it's going to be hard," he said. "I think he's got to find an economic message that makes sense."
Posted by Hueneme_girl29 on July 19, 2008 at 6:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Agreed High society-
Dang, you're up early!!!
:)
Posted by jjp009 on July 19, 2008 at 7:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Question: How come when "Latinos" group together for their own cause, it's called "seeking to mobilize", and when African-Americans gather together they're "expressing their unity", but when whites gather it's called a "Klan Rally" and they're ostracized for doing so?
Posted by schlederdecopan on July 19, 2008 at 8:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Because when the "whites" get together, roads, highways and infrastructures are built, medical systems are put into place, educational systems are set up, judicial courts and penal codes are established, public sanitation standards are adopted, free enterprise is initiated, national sovernity is secured and God confirms these unalienable rights.
And why would you want this?
So it takes Communism, Red May Day Parades, human rights (liberalism) and the Devil that much longer to bring a working society to it's knees, paralized, 'diabolic disorientation' comes to mind...
Posted by dwilson on July 19, 2008 at 9:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Loving the comments this morning. You're all right on. schlederdecopan, well said. I would add that most the time "whites" band together quietly and just do their part as Americans. No need rally, just do it. Hopefully all Americans will embrace their right to vote, and vote their own conscience and not what some group says.
Posted by rebel123 on July 19, 2008 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I firmly believe that any move to galvanize groups into voting is good for everyone. It is the ultimate exercise in democracy. Get out and vote!! Besides, at this point in my life, anything that is good for poor people regardless of race is likely good for me!
Posted by mikeb6804 on July 19, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
schleder---the trouble now is the "whites" are so busy playing politics, they can't get together.
Posted by nancy_4ever on July 19, 2008 at 11:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I love this country.
Posted by surfwidow on July 19, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Via La Migra. Has anyone looked up the negatives of La Raza? Or mecha? La Raza's motto is; "For the race, everything. Outside the race, nothing". Its an anti american racist hate group. Wake up america. We're being invaded from our unchecked borders from Mexico. To know how the Mexican people REALLY feel about us, go to WWW.MEXIKA.ORG and see for yourself. Illegal immigration will be the death of our society as we know it today. Its already happening. been to the SF Valley lately? It looks an awful lot like Mexico.
Posted by whatever on July 19, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The most recent New York Times/CBS News poll put the numbers at 62 percent for Obama and 23 percent for McCain. I wouldn't believe a word either says. Why because they lie about everything. It is funny how you can tune into all sorts of polls and see several different numbers. And LA RAZA they are the biggest racist group around other than the likes of Jesse Jackson, all his cohorts. I think a time will come when there will be a white uprising, that is my feeling. Whites are sick and tires of being called racist. If it wasn't for whites this country would fall apart. Watch it fall in Nov if Obama is President. Historically all seeking freebies in life and all wanting any handouts that they can get will vote Democrat. They don't want to accept responsibility for their own lives and own children that they have, they seek to have someone else pay for them. That is not providing for the poor, that is saying do what you want, and if you can't make it then we will have all the other tax payers pay your way. Yeah that is a proud Democrat. Life does not revolve around the Latino vote and the USA will survive just fine. It seems to be that they only ones calling people names are either Latino's or Obama's people. What is good for the Goose should be just as good for the Gander. If you are an American then drop the African-American and the Hispanic-American. Just be a American...people will be accepted better if you do and quit being racist.
Posted by surfwidow on July 19, 2008 at 5:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
high_society.... Its NOT stereo-type. Its fact. we're having an illegal invasion from south od the border. The reason we say mexicans is because THEY ARE FROM MEXICO...hellooooo??!
If it was an illegal invasion problem from some other country, then fine. but its NOT. And great ONE person went to law school and you're all impressed...Im not. What abouyt all the other millions (Not an understatement) that are not in law school, but in gangs, on assistance from state and federal? What about the schools, the hospitals, the housing???? EVERY hospital in a border town is in deep trouble due to NON paying, NON legal aliens...FACT. stereo-typing indeed. Thats just an excuse latinos come up with when they dont have a leg to stand on...another fact. What now, goning to pull the race card? **YAWN**
Posted by Oranges on July 19, 2008 at 6:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
And lets count the KKK, White Knites and other white power groups. Heck, the KKK was around before any other group.
mmshoot, go back to the ASSylm. It's been nice without your blather.
Posted by UCSBguy on July 19, 2008 at 7:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think the reason most people have a problem with mexicans or latin immigrants is that most of them don't want to learn english. Maybe the new generation but the old immigrants refused to and we're forced to learn their language. I guess it's ok to learn another language but why do we always have to cave in? They're the one who's moving to America so they should learn the language.
I knew this guy back in high school and he told me "I don't need to learn english to graduate from high school (in spanish)" and he ended up dropping out because he couldn't pass the exit exam.
Posted by vcsexplorer11 on July 19, 2008 at 9:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
UCSBguy,
It not just not learning English that is getting people angry.
A little history:
When my relatives came as immigrants to Ellis Island they were not given any financial help - period.
They were so glad to be in America the kissed the ground and saluted the American flag.
The immigrants that come here now want everything for free and wave the mexican flag.
Americans are paying for it with their taxes as the immigrants are working in landscaping (for example) and paying NO TAXES.
Are we fools or what?
Posted by live_for_purpose on July 19, 2008 at 10:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lets all of us legal citizens band together, rise up, and take our country back from the illegals. They don't belong here. La Raza and LULAC and MECHA and MALDEF and all the rest are very racist organizations.
If you had the same words to their stated goals and printed materials, but you replaced every word like "Hispanic" or "Brown" or "Latino" or "Mexican-American" with "Caucasian" or "White" or "European-American," you would be run out of town as an ethno-centric, racist organization. That is exactly what these organizations are.
Posted by jjp009 on July 19, 2008 at 10:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
One final note in addition to the brilliant response from schlederdecopan to my question: When whites get together and create and build and develop and nurture the things that he mentioned that have made this country the greatest nation on Earth, they do so for ALL people to enjoy in this country...when these other racist organizations get together, it's always only for THEIR own gain! THAT is what makes me sick about these articles! When they finally do something for someone other than themselves, THEN I'll celebtrate their cultures...until then...well, it'll never happen, so why bother?
Posted by Brownpride on July 19, 2008 at 11:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The way things are going now Carlos Slim will be the next president of the United States in another 4 years. People are having babies like dogs and cannot care for them so they become corrupt. Not all but most. I said it before and I will say it again. Cities like Fillmore and Santa Paula are like Mexico without the American tourists.
Posted by UCSBguy on July 19, 2008 at 11:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
mmshoot what are you talking about? I did not understand one sentence you just said.
Did my what just turned 12? You said "your.." my... what?
mmshoot I remember you telling people they should learn other languages other than english but I don't see you telling these people who refuse to learn english, learn english.
Btw, I don't care what you think either and I don't see what you mean.
Posted by vcsexplorer11 on July 20, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
mmshoot,
Actually english is not officially the national language. Some states (I think 4)have made english their official language, but the U.S. Government has never made it the official language.
Posted by UCSBguy on July 20, 2008 at 4:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ok you studied spanish. Good for you. Why do you want us to study spanish too? I'll study the language that I really want and not the one I'm forced to.
Besides what's your point for posting all these "eskimo negroid caucasian" Who do you think you are? Mr. Information? You're just posting random stuff.
English doesn't have to be our national language but it would be nice if you go to a restaurant where the person taking your order understands what you're ordering or when you want to read something but every phamplet or brochure are in spanish!
Posted by ReadMyLipsNoNewTaxes on July 22, 2008 at 8:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"....The most obvious is education, which is consistently a high priority for Latinos, both liberal and conservative."
hahahahahahahahahaha
Yea right...
Posted by mamaof2 on July 22, 2008 at 12:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
readmylips: i am mexican and education is a very high priority for me and it is becoming that way for most latino familys as well. whether u would like to believe or not it is true for most.
(Requires free registration.)
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.