Pew Report Highlights Latino Voter Growth

There has been plenty of media hype focused on Wednesday’s U.S. presidential debate between incumbent Barack Obama and rival Mitt Romney.  Tonight’s discussion might appeal to members of several vital voting blocs that could tip the balance in favor of either Obama or Romney.  One of these is Latino voters, which, based on a new study, could play a key role in November’s election.

A Pew Hispanic Center report released this week concluded that the number of eligible Latino voters has reached a record of 23.7 million people this year. Compared to four years year ago the figure represents a 22% increase; thus, Latinos make up about one out of every ten voters in the U.S.

"Among Latino eligible voters, 58% are of Mexican origin, 14% are of Puerto Rican origin, 6% are of Cuban origin and 22% are of Central American, South American or other Hispanic origin," mentioned the report.

However not all was good news according to the Center’s analysis.  Voter registration and participation has lagged in comparison to other racial groups.  One of the possible reasons for this may be that Latinos moving to different states could have affected over registration. The young Latino population has grown but they are “less likely to hold citizenship than other groups.“

Another element that could affect Latino voter involvement are voter ID laws that have been approved in several states over the past few years.  One of these states with the toughest voter ID laws is Pennsylvania though yesterday a local judge halted a measure that opponents alleged would disenfranchise Latino voters.

Today’s Video: Have you registered to vote?

The voter registration deadline in most U.S. states ends this week. Here’s a quick list of them via Rock the Vote:

Monday, October 6 (there’s still time!):

Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia

Tuesday, October 7:

Illinois, New Mexico

Wednesday, October 8:

Missouri

Friday, October 10:

New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma

Saturday, October 11:

Delaware

Please check out this link for more details on how you can register to vote. Don’t forget that you can register for absentee ballots if necessary. (This is an option I’m pursuing in my home state of New York since I’m physically disabled).

Today’s featured video is a brief PSA by Latina actress America Ferrara for non-partisan voter group Declare Yourself:

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Rock the Vote, Declare Yourself, YouTube