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THE AWAKENING OF THE U.S. ELECTORATE
Written by Maria Elena Salinas   
Monday, October 11 2004
 
There is a phenomenon taking over the country: Young people who thought politics were boring now think it's cool to vote. African-Americans who felt disenfranchised now want to make sure their votes are counted. And after becoming the largest minority in the country, Latino voters want to flex their political muscle. It's the awakening of the American electorate, and it's about time. For too long, a minority of the U.S. population has been deciding our destiny. Only about half of those old enough to vote did so. Call it political apathy, laziness or a lack of conviction. But now the heavily charged political climate in the United States has energized the electorate into the most polarized and politicized in recent history. After the 2000 electoral debacle, Americans finally realized that every vote counts and can make a difference. Since then, states have been reporting record numbers of new registered voters. In some places, new registrations have quadrupled. There is so much at stake that polls suggest that two out of every three voters consider this the most important election of their lifetime. Although there are no national figures yet, as voter rolls are still being counted and several states have not yet reached their registration deadlines, a massive effort by dozens of organizations to register new Latino voters has yielded unprecedented results. The Puerto Rican Federal Affairs Administration invested $12 million in a campaign to activate Puerto Rican and other Hispanic voters. That campaign alone registered more than 326,000 new voters in a two-year period. The Southwest Voter Registration Project, which doubled its efforts and resources this election year, has also registered more than 100,000 new voters. SVREP's Michael Bustamante attributes the success of the campaign to shifting demographics and an increase in citizenship that have made certain states, such as Nevada and Colorado, places where large concentrations of Latinos make it possible to register voters in larger numbers. A new toll-free hot line established by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials received about 1,000 calls in just a week and a half from potential voters in 16 states inquiring about registration forms. "Mi Familia Vota," a movement by the Center for Immigrant Democracy and The People for the American Way Foundation, worked tirelessly seven days a week for eight months to register Latino voters in Florida. "We went door to door, covering 3,000 homes each day, sometimes getting a door slammed in our face," said coordinator Carlos Pereira. But in the end, they registered more than 73,000 new voters, surpassing their goal of 50,000. Together, these and other organizations hope to have registered at least 2 million more Hispanic voters than in 2000. It is projected that 7.5 million Latinos will cast their ballots in 2004. In Florida and elsewhere in the country, many of the new registered voters are recently naturalized citizens, and Nov. 2 will be the first time they will have an opportunity to exercise their right to vote in this country. Jorge Mursuli, national director of "Mi Familia Vota," says Latinos are eager to become politically active. "The turnout for these new voters will be much higher than for those who have had the right to vote for several years," said Mursuli. He is, however, concerned that the electorate in Florida is not categorized by ethnicity, even though politicians are eagerly courting the Latino vote. "Measuring our success is having the ability to be counted," he said. "Not doing it in Wyoming is understandable, but not doing it in Florida isn't." Clarisa Martinez, of the National Council of La Raza, is equally concerned. NCLR has been receiving troubling reports of voter intimidation, such as challenging the amount of Latinos registering to vote, particularly among naturalized citizens. Nov. 2 will be a real test of our democracy. The challenge for our electoral authorities will be to hold clean and fair elections, allowing all eligible registered voters to cast their ballots, and make sure all votes are counted. The challenge for the electorate will be to show up at the polls. It's our duty and our right.