Nov 10, 2008
Latinos Decide Historic 2008 Presidential Election, Democracia U.S.A. Empowers Voters in Four Battleground States
Hispanics have participated in the 2008 elections in record-breaking, historical levels. In all states, Hispanics turned out to vote and to make their voices be heard. As a contribution to this historic level of Latino participation in the American political system, Democracia U.S.A. registered more than 138,000 Latinos to vote in 2008, and cumulatively registered more than 319,000 new Hispanic voters since its founding in 2004, increasing the national Latino electorate by more than 3%. These achievements alone make Democracia U.S.A. the largest Latino civic engagement organization in the United States.
But moreover, these achievements are paled in comparison to the momentous impact that the Latino vote had in these elections on a local, state, and national level, most particularly in the battleground states of Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
Latinos came out in force to vote. On a national level, they predominantly voted for Democrat Barack Obama. On a state level, they voted for Republicans like Mario Diaz-Balart, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. In summary, the Hispanic vote in 2008 is complex and varies from state. As the Pew Hispanic Center put it in their Hispanic Vote in the 2008 Election report, “No other major demographic voting group in the country swung so heavily to Obama as Latinos did between the primaries and the general election.” The Latino vote certainly remains the ultimate swing vote and a political force to be reckoned.
As an example of the impact of Democracia U.S.A.’s work in the 2008 election, here are a few examples.
Democracia U.S.A registered over 72,000 mostly Hispanic new registrants in Florida. In Nevada, we accounted for approximately 39% of the overall growth of the Nevada Hispanic electorate in 2008 alone. Also in 2008, over 31% of the Latinos we registered were young voters.
But the Hispanic vote is most notably visible in its percentage share of the overall electorate. In states where Democracia U.S.A. was a key player, our impact or increase on the overall Hispanic electorate per state is evident: 2% in Arizona, 6% in Florida, 11% in Nevada, 6% in New Jersey 6%, and 10% in Pennsylvania. These increases demonstrate an overall trend across the country of emerging political activism and interest among Hispanics as their numbers increase state-by-state.
According to the renowned pollster Bendixen & Associates, Hispanic turnout in Colorado increased to 13% in 2008 from only 8% in 2004. In Nevada, Hispanic turnout increased to 16% in 2008 from only 10% in 2004. Without any doubt, the Latino vote has grown to be a deciding factor in the American political landscape. And Democracia U.S.A. has played a key role in empowering Latinos to improve their communities and quality of life through civic engagement.
