Jul 28, 2008
Democracia USA releases poll on young Hispanic voters
(Washington, DC)- July 17, 2008- Democracia USA, a national non-partisan Hispanic voter registration and civic engagement program with operations in five states, released today an exclusive national poll of young Hispanic voters that measures their moods and attitudes toward this election. This first-of-its-kind study revealed what issues matter most to this group of voters, how they view themselves culturally, if they feel discriminated as Hispanic Americans and what level of importance they place on this election. The poll was presented by Democracia USA’s President, Jorge Mursuli, and its pollster, Sergio Bendixen. Its sample was 500 Hispanic voters between the ages of 18 and 29.
The study’s key findings are:
- Hispanic youth embrace both their American and Hispanic cultures, identifying themselves as bicultural. Only fourteen percent of those polled considered themselves to be more American. Forty-six percent also feel that their race or ethnicity is the strongest characteristic in determining their identity.
- Discrimination is seen as a major problem by young Hispanic voters. Ninety percent say there is “a lot” or “some discrimination” against Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. This is striking since 54 percent of those polled are American born.
- There is a great deal of interest in the 2008 presidential campaign as three-quarters of young Hispanic voters have been following the campaign closely and 85 percent believe it to be the most important election in American history.
- Jobs and the economy and the war in Iraq are the top two issues for these voters. Respondents who conducted the interview in Spanish put immigration in third place with 27 percent, while those who conducted the interview in English, put education in third with 26 percent.
- Almost half of young Hispanic voters believe that their vote for President in 2008 will be similar to their parents’ vote.
- 85 percent see this election as one of the most important in American history.
- The Hispanic youth electorate prefers to get their information from traditional methods, such as English-language or Spanish-language media.
- Social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook have little penetration among this electorate, with only one-fifth saying they access it every day or a few times a week. There is even less penetration for video posting sites such as YouTube, which only 13 percent saying they access it every day or a few times a week.
Mursuli commented on the findings of the poll, “Young Hispanic voters are at a crossroads as a segment of the US electorate. They understand the importance of this election and are not taking their vote for granted. Yet, their overwhelming sense of discrimination also indicates that they have felt the brunt of the anti-immigrant sentiment across the country.” He added, “I think that this will all translate into an unprecedented interest and turnout by young Hispanics in November.”
