A project of the Center for Community Change

latino voters

Immigrant Ballot Power

Posted by Rachel L. on July 1, 2008

From Alternet :

“Our Vote is Power… Our Vote is Power,” chant the hundreds of immigrants, elected officials, and leaders in the fight for immigration reform who gathered to celebrate the national “New Americans Democracy Day” (http://icirr.org/node/2882) this past Saturday. In a sweaty auditorium on Chicago’s Northwest side, an audience of over 300 listens as Senator Dick Durbin and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky speak about their efforts to pass immigration reform. Elected officials from both parties and community leaders share the stage and the excitement.

The diverse crowd fans themselves between cheers with posters that bear several dozens of logos- a reminder of the many non-partisan, community organizations that will be working around-the-clock to turn out the immigrant vote this fall. In a nearby classroom, dozens of South Asian, South American, and Eastern European immigrants fill out the final paperwork to become citizens. Local Spanish and Polish TV and bus ads around the city ask the simple question, “What are you waiting for?”

The message has never been clearer: Become a citizen and vote… before it’s too late.

Click here for the full article.

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Spanish Language could play a Key role in the Upcoming Election

Posted by Rachel L. on June 30, 2008

There is an article at the Huffington Post today that discusses the importace of Spanish Language advertising to court Latino voters for both John McCain and Barack Obama.

Given the potential impact for both sides, Spanish-language ads could well wind up becoming notable for reasons beyond their anticipated historic number, as the parties’ political messaging to the Latino community looks destined to become more substantive and issue-oriented than in past cycles. And, as it happens, the issues in play for that community — Obama’s biography and McCain’s desire to hoist the maverick mantle — are ones that stoke interest in the wider electorate, as well.

While George Bush badly outspent his Democratic rivals in 2000 and 2004 with paid media, he also skated through the community’s vetting process by articulating broad, uplifting themes. By contrast, the increasingly contentious politics of immigration mean that Latino voters will expect more detail from Obama and McCain this year.

Click here for full article.

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McCain and Obama’s Five Percent Rule

Posted by Rachel L. on June 23, 2008

From Feet in 2 Worlds:

Both of the major parties’ presumptive Presidential nominees are salivating over the Latino vote, and with good reason. Four years ago, George Bush won New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and Florida by less than 5 percent of the vote. Each of these states has a vast Latino population—case in point: one in three New Mexico voters is Latino.

In other words, Latino voters matter like never before in this year’s tight Presidential race.

As analysts point to growing numbers of Latino voters in crucial Southern and Western states, Latinos are the new soccer moms and Nascar dads (in 2008 political parlance) and the Presidential campaigns are answering this clarion call loud and clear with multimillion-dollar ad buys (both Obama and Clinton spent at least $4 million on Spanish-language campaign ads before the June 1 primary – an astronomical 400 percent increase over what Bush and Gore spent on Spanish-language media in the 2000 race) and heartfelt Spanish-language television appeals.

It appears the Latino voter is poised to join this election’s mythic white working class voter in the campaign’s hall of fame.

Click here for full article.

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