The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) released a report Tuesday at a press conference in Washington that projects 1 million more Latinos will show up at the polls in the upcoming midterm elections than in 2006.
The net result could be an increase in the number of Latino elected officials including a projected addition of one US Senator, three members of Congress and two governor’s seats. The majority of these increases would be for Republicans.
By looking at the increase in Hispanic voter turnout in the past three congressional elections, the nonpartisan group estimated that about 6.5 million Latinos will vote on November 2.
“Never before have we had so many tight contests at the state and federal levels in states where the Latino vote can make a difference,” Arturo Vargas, executive director of NALEO, said. “I think it will make all the difference in 2010.”
Latinos voters may well be the deciding factor in several tight races noted Vargas pointing to the gubernatorial contests in California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas.
The report contradicts recent studies that say Latinos are less enthusiastic to vote in this year’s round of elections says Vargas. La Plaza recently reported on a Pew Hispanic Center study that showed only 51% of Latino voters said they will vote in the upcoming midterm elections compared to 70% of all registered voters, and the Post-Kaiser-Harvard poll, released this month, reports that only 35% of Hispanics were “very interested” in their upcoming congressional races.
Vargas also criticized the ad campaign sponsored by a conservative organization, Latinos for Reform, encouraging Latinos not to vote. Yesterday, a story in La Plaza detailed plans to air Spanish-language ads criticizing President Obama and Democrats for “betraying” Latinos and instructing Latinos to protest by staying home on election day. The Univision network said it would not run the ads.
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