Hispanic political siesta?

Submitted by ub on

With the midterm elections less than a month away, Democrats are burdened by Barack Obama’s political standing which is in some respects weaker than it was at a comparable point during the 2010 campaign, which caused the GOP to gain a majority in the US House of Representatives.

We are all too familiar with the term sleeping giant. The Latino vote was a good example, when it seemed to have awakened during the 2008 campaign and some say it remained through 2012. However the Hispanic vote appears to be returning to a form of slumber party, or a "Fiesta de Siesta."

Hispanics now appear to be increasingly disappointed with President Obama, as well as with many Democrats, who appear to have abandoned them when it comes to immigration reform and therefore they're not feeling motivated to vote.

Three weeks before elections, US Hispanics are the target of intense campaigns of civic groups seeking to combat their lack of interest in elections because the states with the most hotly contested races for governorships, the House of Representatives and the Senate have an abundance of Latinos.

National Association of Latino Elected Officials estimates nearly 26 million Latinos of voting age in the United States, but only 7.8 million will be going to the polls on 4 November, which represents single digits and a small portion of the US electorate.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 75% of Latino voters are born in the United States with the remaining 25percent were naturalized. 58 percent are from Mexico, 14 percent of Puerto Rico, Cuba six percent, and 22 percent for the remaining combined other Latin Americans.

Civic groups continue fundraising efforts to encourage nearly 13 million Hispanics who at least are already registered to vote to cast their ballots.

The challenge is to continue encouraging civic participation of Hispanics so the so-called sleeping giant will wake up and flex their political power in this country.

According to the Voter Participation Center, nearly 21 million fewer African Americans, Hispanics and young unmarried women voted in 2010 compared with 2008, that's exactly the situation the Democrats want to avoid this time around if they can help it.