Latino Voters 2012: Sleeping Giant Unlikely To Turn Population Growth Into Power

[flamingdem]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/08/latino-voter-2012-population-power_n_1866131.html?utm_hp_ref=latino-voices

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Right now about 10.9 million Latinos are registered to vote, Gonzalez said. About 10 million more are eligible but unregistered.
Foreclosures and unemployment mean millions of Latinos must register at new addresses in order to vote, Gonzalez said. In 2008, the economic crisis, wars, and Obama's historically significant presence on the ballot helped drive voters of all races to the polls.

The other problem is tactical. In the years before Obama’s first run for president, political parties, private foundations, wealthy individuals and presidential campaigns pumped money into outside organizations that worked to identify and register voters. Scandals involving The Association of Community Organization for Reform Now, better known as ACORN, changed everything, said Gonzalez.

“The campaigns are really doing things differently now, it’s more of a command and control approach,” said Gonzalez. “They control everything, including the aspects of the ground game, the door-knocking and the efforts to register voters that they used to essentially outsource to groups that were interested in expanding the Latino electorate, not winning elections.”

Half the nation’s eligible Latino voters live in Texas, a solidly red state, and California, a solidly blue one. This year, most of the campaigns’ voter registration efforts are in eight battleground states: North Carolina, Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio , Florida and Virginia. They aren’t working to register voters in the remaining 42, Gonzalez said.

The strategy will boost Latino voter turnout in swing states, but won’t likely expand Latino political power or engage more Hispanic voters.

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"We don't need more ads. We don't need more money for consultants," Huerta said this week in Charlotte.
Huerta was waiting for a Latino Leaders Network event, where most of the attendees were Democratic faithful. But a sizable share of people milling around, snapping photos of Huerta and waiting to pose with her or shake her hand, were political consultants or operatives who specialize in turning out the Latino vote.

"We need resources for on-the-ground, door-to-door organizers, Huerta said. "We need resources for the people who know how to talk to people about what is on the line. … That's what we need to turn out the Latino vote. That's what works."

[JRLeft]

1. The republicons drew up legislation to restrict voter registration in Texass.