Political Participation - Hispanic Political Participation

Factors Contributing to Low Political Participation

There was a tremendous increase in the Hispanic population in the United States during the late twentieth century, resulting in a population of 41.3 million Hispanic people in the United States in 2004. However, the Hispanic community has not attained political power equal to its proportion of the population. Two characteristics of Hispanic demography help to account for this. First, although the Hispanic voting-age population grew during the 1970s and 1980s, Hispanics have a young population, with many in the eighteen- to twenty-four-year-old category—the age group least likely to vote. In addition, a smaller proportion of Hispanics than of society as a whole are in the fifty-five and older category—the age group most likely to vote. The second and perhaps more important characteristic is the issue of U.S. citizenship. More than four in ten adult Hispanics living in the United States are not U.S. citizens, thus eliminating more than eleven million potential Hispanic voters. (See Table 8.2.)

Political Participation

Civil rights gains of the 1960s, such as the Twenty-fourth Amendment eliminating the poll tax, the extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to the Southwest, and the elimination of the English literacy requirement, helped a number of Hispanics attain political office. During the 1970s both major political parties started wooing Hispanic voters and drafting Hispanic candidates.

TABLE 8.4 Reasons for not voting, by sex, age, race and Hispanic origin, and educational attainment, November 2004 "Table 12. Reasons for Not Voting, by Sex, Age, Race and Hispanic Origin, and Educational Attainment: November 2004," U.S. Census Bureau, May 25, 2005, http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting/cps2004.html (accessed January 30, 2006)

Advocacy groups, such as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Southwest Voter Registration Project, and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Educational Fund, were formed. All these helped develop the political influence of the Hispanic community.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) is a research, policy, and education organization dedicated to "developing and implementing programs that promote the integration of Latino immigrants into American society, developing future leaders among Latino youth, providing assistance and training to the nation's Latino elected and appointed officials and … conducting research on issues important to the Latino population" (2002, http://www.naleo.org/). In 2004 the NALEO Educational Fund announced that it was collaborating with Univision Communications Inc. in a program aimed at mobilizing Hispanic voters throughout the United States. The "Voces del Pueblo" campaign included nonpartisan public service announcements on radio and television as well as voter education forums, phone contact, and targeted mailings. According to Ivelisse Estrada of Univision, "with the significant growth of the Latino population in the U.S. and the increasing number of Latinos registering to vote, the U.S. Hispanic community's ability to influence the course of our nation can no longer be ignored. Now more than ever, Latinos are demonstrating that they are key players on the political stage. With this campaign we have the opportunity to listen to Latino voters and identify their concerns" (March 5, 2004, http://www.univision.net/corp/en/pr/Los_Angeles_05032004-2.html). The program was an attempt to mobilize Hispanic voters and develop the political influence of the Hispanic community.

Hispanics and Political Parties

Hispanics as a group have been important supporters of the Democratic Party, but like many other Americans in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, many Hispanics shifted their party affiliation to the Republican Party. The Pew Research Center reports in the 2004 Political Landscape that while Democrats outnumbered Republicans among Hispanics by more than two to one in the 1990s, after 9/11 Democrats led by a smaller margin—36% to 22%. Among Hispanics, party affiliation varies by region. In the Northeast Hispanics did not shift to the Republican Party after the terrorist attacks. However, in Florida Republicans gained a slight advantage over Democrats in the Hispanic community after 9/11.

The Republican Party has not only courted African-Americans but has also turned its attention to Hispanic voters, who are an increasing proportion of the voting public. The party is appealing to traditional family values that are important to Hispanic families. Cuban Americans, spurred by anticommunist sentiment against the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, have long tended to be Republicans, but as the Pew Research Center report shows, other Hispanic voters have also begun to show more interest in the Republican Party.