Let me be the first to admit that over the years of my adult life I have neglected to exercise my right and privilege to vote as a citizen of the United States of America. As a matter of fact, when I really think about it, most of the family and friends I have spent most of my life with (even up to the present time) did not vote and if they did, it was never encouraged, made a priority or even discussed. I am not saying I have never voted, but I have not been consistent. The first time I registered to vote was in college when the campus MEChA club conducted a voter drive way back in 1974. I registered under the “La Raza Unida” party (does anyone out there remember those days?). Sometime later (during the late 80’s or early 90’s I forget which now), I registered as a Republican as I felt at the time the party was more in line with my Christian moral values. However, over the years since then, I have grown in my knowledge and understanding of both major political parties, have carefully followed Congress as a whole and at this point I am registered as an Independent. Why? – Well, if you will indulge me for a brief editorial, I will candidly share my thoughts.
I must say that I do agree with the “spirit” of what James Dobson is doing because, in my opinion as a Christian first and a Latino second, neither the Republicans nor Democrats deserve my support. For those who do not know what I am referring to, Dr. James Dobson, Founder of “Focus on the Family”, and known for his conservative Republican views, recently announced that he would consider supporting a third option candidate.
“In a surprising move Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family announced in an op-ed in the New York Times that he and some 50 colleagues met and discussed what position they would take in the upcoming Presidential race. According to a report on Fox news October 9, 2007 Dobson said “If neither of the two major political parties nominates an individual who pledges himself or herself to the sanctity of human life, we will join others in voting for a minor party candidate”…No less than three times in his interview with Dr. Dobson on October 9, Sean Hannity disclosed to Dr. Dobson the dreadful result of a completed “Rasmussen poll” which clearly indicated that any split in the vote for the top front runners would result in a landslide victory for Sen. Hillary Clinton.Dr. Dobson’s reply to Hannity was obviously labored and he repeated several times that his decision was based on “principle.” …Unfortunately he can only make these decisions for himself and not for Focus on the Family because non-profits cannot endorse political candidates.” (www.americanchronical.com)
Again, I say I agree with the “spirit” of this action, which is to say that I do not necessarily line up with every view of Dr. Dobson on every issue we are faced with as a country, but I do respect the “principle” of being LOYAL TO CONSCIENCE above being loyal to political parties. This is a principle I suggest we Latinos need to consider as we think about our political affiliations. When Latinos ask me which party they should register and vote as, my answer is; how we register is not as important as how we vote. In my view, we must vote our conscience, our convictions, what is right for our community as a whole and no longer allow our vote to be taken for granted by any politician or political party. I know there have been efforts in the past at trying to establish a viable third party, but it has not been successful, Ross Perot and Ralph Nader being the last ones to come close. Nevertheless, I think it is definitely needed and at the very least sends the right message that we are discouraged, disgusted and distrustful of Government as it now stands and has performed over the past several years.
Secondly, for Latinos we are at a crossroads. We can just give in and vote for a default candidate and hope for the best, or give our support to a third party that we know won’t win this time, live with whoever does win, and continue to build for the future of building our voter base and show up to the next major election “buffed out” as a force that has gone from a small voice to a loud undeniable SHOUT! Thus, I suggest for Latinos today, that we get behind issues, our issues, and make it clear that our vote will be tied to the candidate that lines up and delivers on our issues, regardless of political party.
Thirdly, the issue of improving the Latino vote, in my mind, comes down to Latino leadership. We find ourselves in a new position as the largest minority people group in the country, a potential buying power estimated at $1 trillion dollars, and the possibility of being the nations swing vote to decide many elections locally, state and nationwide. The question is not can we lead, but rather will we lead? Because the truth is; if we have the numbers but not the power, who cares? The problem is that historically, Hispanics/Latinos don’t vote and it’s going to take real leadership from you and me to change that, otherwise, we will remain where we have always been when it comes to American politics and power – ON THE MARGINS. My goal in raising this issue with you is to mobilize our voting efforts and begin a movement that will take us from the MARGINS to the MAINSTREAM of American influence!
None of the major political candidates will take us serious until they see that we VOTE. We can protest, boycott, rally in the streets and make all the noise we want, but until we VOTE, we won’t be heard. Have you ever asked yourself why so much emphasis, time and money is put into small states like Iowa and New Hampshire? Simple, they have a history of active voters as a state. Let me ask the reverse question; why is California, the nation’s most populous state with the most electoral votes for President, not given much attention? Simple, the majority of people in the state don’t vote and California is taken for granted as a “Democrat” state. The point is, can you imagine what would happen in American politics if our people simply voted? In my view, until we see that Presidential candidates are more interested in the Latino vote in California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida, etc., rather than places like Iowa and New Hampshire, we will never get off the margins and into the mainstream of influence and power because it is the “American voter” and not the “American people” that wield political clout.
Finally, voter registration is hard work. However, if we all work within our circle of influence, I believe our collective effort will be the beginning (or continuation as the case may be) of a Latino voter middle-class-to-grassroots-movement that is long overdue. For example, I suggest one of the best ways we can mobilize the Latino vote is to engage the faith community. Every Sunday morning the Priest and Pastor hold the power of the “bully pulpit” where they are heard by hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of parishioners. Perhaps there can be a concerted effort at strategic times in the year to address Latino issues and if nothing else, at least encourage their parishioners to register and exercise their privilege to vote. This is just one example, but the point is at this time in our nation we need Latino LEADERSHIP and I cannot think of a better place to light a fire under the eligible Latino voters than in God’s house!
Thus, I strongly recommend the following for all of us to encourage our ministers to consider doing on a regular basis:
1. Provide voter registration forms at the church for members to fill out before or after the service
2. Seek to enlist your church facility (if possible) as a place to vote in the community
3. Provide members educational material on the issues and from time to time speak to the issues from a scriptural point of view
Aside from the faith community, many others of us have access to radio, television, news print, schools and other community venues where Latinos can be reached, educated and encouraged to vote. Thus, as I stated earlier, we are at a crossroads, we need leadership from the margins to the mainstream of civic influence and at least one big step we can take is to make sure we increase the number of Latinos at the polls for the upcoming election in 2008!
For those who may need more information and/or motivation, below I have summarized for you the latest statistics regarding the 2006 Latino vote that is researched and distributed by the Pew Hispanic Center, which helps to understand and project the need to improve for 2008. (www.pewhispanic.org)
The Size of the Latino Electorate
The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that more than 17 million Hispanics will be U.S. citizens over the age of 18 and thus eligible to vote in the November 2006 election, an increase of 7% over the 2004 election. The Hispanic share of the U.S. electorate will increase to 8.6% from 8.2% in 2004.
Projections based on 2004 voter registration
These numbers assume that Latinos of different age groups and nativity categories will register at rates seen in 2004. At that election, 9.3 million Latinos, or 58% of eligible voters, were registered, according to the 2004 Current Population Survey. The registration rates for blacks and whites were 69% and 75% respectively.
· If Latinos registered at the same rate as 2004, then 10.0 million Latino citizens 18 and older would register to vote in 2006. That would represent 58% of eligible Latinos.
· If Latinos registered at the same rate as non-Hispanic blacks did in 2004, then 11.5 million Latinos would register to vote in 2006. That would represent 67% of eligible Latinos.
· If Latinos registered to vote at the same rate as non-Hispanic whites did in 2004, then 12.3 million Latinos would register to vote in 2006. That would represent 71% of eligible Latinos.
· Latinos historically lag behind whites and blacks in registration (percent among all eligible voters) and voting (percent of registered voters who actually cast ballots).
· In 2006, the pro-immigration rallies held in many cities raised expectations that political participation among Latinos would also increase. Census data shows a marginal increase in registration and participation rates among Latinos between 2002 and 2006.
Whites, however, also experienced a slight gain, so Latinos did not close the considerable gap. About 54% of Latino eligible voters registered in 2006, up from 53% in 2002. About 60% of these registered voters said they actually voted in 2006, up from 58% in 2002. By contrast, 71% of white eligible voters registered in 2006, two percentage points higher than in 2002. About 72% of these registered voters said they voted in last year’s mid-term elections, one percentage point higher than in 2002.
The shares of blacks who registered and voted declined from 2002 to 2006. Registration rates decreased by two percentage points, to 61%, and voting by one percentage point, to 67%. The combination of demographic factors and participation rates meant that 13% of the total Latino population voted in 2006, compared with 39% of all whites and 27% of all blacks.
· The Hispanic population grew by 5.7 million between November 2002 and November 2006, the time period that frames the two elections.
· Hispanics accounted for nearly half of the total population growth.
· A majority of these new Latinos were not eligible to vote. More than a third were under 18 years of age and another third were adult non-citizens. About 30% were eligible to vote. Whites, by contrast, accounted for 24% of the population growth between 2002 and 2006 but 46% of the growth in the voting eligible population. Among whites, the number under 18 and the number who were not citizens also declined during this period. As a result, the increase in the number of white eligible voters (3.9 million) exceeded the growth in the white population (2.8 million).
Going to the Polls
· Hispanics accounted for 5.8% of the votes cast in 2006, up from 5.3% vote in 2002. In absolute numbers, an additional 800,000 Hispanics cast ballots in the 2006 election compared with the 2002 election.
· Whites accounted for 81% of the votes in 2006, unchanged from 2002. In absolute numbers, an additional 5.6 million whites cast ballots in the 2006 election compared with the 2002 election.
· Blacks accounted for 10% of the votes in 2006, down from about 11% in 2002. The black vote increased by 400,000 in 2006.
· The 5.6 million votes cast by Hispanics in 2006 represented 13% of the total Hispanic population. The 9.9 million votes cast by black represented 27% of the black population and the 78 million votes cast by whites represented 39% of the white population.
· The Latino electorate was a much smaller share of the Latino population than it was among whites and blacks. In November 2006, 39% of Hispanics were eligible to vote compared to 76% of whites and 65% of blacks.
Participation Rates
· Hispanics who are eligible to vote are less likely to register and less likely to cast a vote than either whites or blacks.
· About 54% of Hispanics who were eligible to vote registered in November 2006. Among whites and blacks, the figure was 71% and 61%, respectively. Registration rates increased slightly among Hispanics and whites between the two elections but decreased among blacks.
· Latinos who registered to vote were less likely to vote in November 2006 than whites and blacks who were registered.
· The turnout among Latinos increased slightly from 2002 to 2006, as it did among whites. Among blacks, however, the turnout decreased by one percentage point between the two elections (68% in 2002 and 67% in 2006).
