I recently saw the movie “Swing Vote.” Most of my friends who saw it said it was long and boring, and while I don’t necessarily disagree, I think it was a good satire of the political process in our country. The movie makes American voters -- or at least the one voter who stars in the movie -- seem apathetic and uneducated, to put it lightly, and the presidential candidates and their staffs willing to compromise their integrity to capture the one vote they need to win.
Does it happen in real life? Well, maybe not in such a graphic and cynical manner as was portrayed in the movie, but it certainly is true that there is a need for a better connection between the voters and the candidates. Voters need to educate themselves on the issues and articulate their concerns, and candidates need to show voters what they really stand for.
Fortunately for Democrats and Republicans, this year once again there is valuable data on the issues that concern and affect Latino voters, who are poised to become the 2008 swing voters. NALEO, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, together with its media partners, has gone around the country in the past few months holding voter forums, precisely to listen to what registered Latino voters have to say about the upcoming election.
What NALEO found in the eight cities where the forums were held is a very diverse group of voters with many commonalities. The groups varied in age, gender and national origin. Some were U.S.-born; others were naturalized citizens. But their areas of concern were very similar. For example, on the economy, many were concerned with the rising cost of day-to-day living expenses. They felt they had to choose between “buying gas or buying food.”
Several of the participants have loved ones serving in the armed forces and were concerned not only with the loss of life in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also with how the cost of the war is taking away funding from more “pressing domestic challenges.”
Health care and the high cost of insurance were of particular concern to Latino voters who either had no insurance or insufficient insurance to cover their family’s medical needs. Also on voters’ minds was the need for better-quality elementary and high-school education as well as the means to pay for college tuition.
As in the past, immigration arose not as a main issue, but certainly as a symbolic one that affects these American citizens even though they don’t necessarily have an immigration problem. Their concern is how the immigration debate has increased discrimination against Latinos.
So, what to do with all this information? NALEO put together a comprehensive report on the forums that will be handed over to both parties at their respective conventions, hoping they will take notice and take action. It is, after all, in their best interests to address the needs of Latino voters. They are not only a young electorate, but also a new electorate. They are what NALEO calls “soft partisans,” which means their vote is up for grabs. The new and improved Latino voter is also more sophisticated and more demanding. It is no longer enough to speak Spanish, wear a sombrero or drink a cafecito to get the Latino vote.
There are 1.2 million more Latinos eligible to vote this year than in the previous election. NALEO projects that on Nov. 4, more than 9.2 million Latinos will cast their ballots, an increase of almost 2 million from the 2004 presidential elections. Latinos will prove to be a powerful political force, particularly in the battleground states of New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Florida, where the percentage of voters is large enough to help decide the margin of victory. No doubt, the party that is able to motivate and mobilize Latino voters will have a better chance of winning the White House.

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER’S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www
.mariaesalinas.com)
© 2008 by Maria Elena Salinas
Distributed by King Features Syndicate