Groups protect 'new American' voters

Tue Nov 4 16:13:48 UTC 2008

 Groups protect 'new American' voters

By EUNICE MOSCOSO
Cox News Service

Monday, November 03, 2008

WASHINGTON — Labor unions, civil liberties groups and Hispanic
organizations are gearing up to protect a unique segment of voters:
new Americans.
A record 1.4 million people applied for citizenship in 2007 and
another 480,000 followed this year. If a large number of new citizens
participate, they could influence a tight election -- especially in
the contested states of Florida, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada,
experts say. The AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor organization, is
waging a campaign to help new Latino voters get to the polls and cast
their votes. It's part of a broader voter protection effort.

"Many Hispanics will be first time voters in this election, making
them especially vulnerable to voter intimidation and misinformation,"
said Arlene Holt Baker, AFL-CIO executive vice president. The union's
effort includes a Spanish-language radio ad campaign featuring actor
Edward James Olmos that details voter protection issues. The union is
also distributing thousands of Spanish-language voter "Bill of Rights"
cards in several states, including Ohio, Virginia, Florida and Nevada.

An AFL-CIO affiliate -- the Labor Council for Latin American
Advancement -- is also canvassing door to door in areas of Michigan
and Northern Virginia with sample ballots for Latino voters and voter
education information.

The group is also stationing bilingual monitors at the polls in some
precincts, including in Prince William County, Va., where an ordinance
was passed earlier this year allowing police to check the immigration
status of people stopped for traffic violations and other offenses.
Opponents said the ordinance encourages racial profiling and is
anti-Hispanic.

The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement also sent letters to
elections supervisors in seven central Florida counties requesting a
plan to increase, maintain, support and protect the participation of
Latinos.

Lydia Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the group, said the counties were
targeted because of problems there in 2004.

A study released last week by the Immigration Policy Center, an
advocate group, said that the number of naturalized citizens
registered to vote in the United States grew 55 percent in recent
years -- from 5.2 million in 1996 to nearly 8 million in 2004.

It also showed that naturalized American citizens and U.S.-born
children of immigrants make up nearly 9 percent of registered voters
nationwide.

"I do think it's going to be a banner year for new American voters,"
said Angela Kelley, director of the center. "They're coming into their
own as an important segment of the electorate."

In Florida, the foreign-born population that is eligible to vote
increased 28 percent -- from nearly 1.2 million in 2000 to more than
1.5 million in 2006, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a
non-partisan research group in Washington.

Among the foreign-born in Florida, about 57 percent are Hispanic.

In Texas, the foreign-born population that is eligible to vote
increased 25 percent -- from about 870,000 in 2000 to nearly 1.1
million in 2006, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a
non-partisan research group in Washington.

Among the foreign-born in Texas, about 74 percent are Hispanic.

In Georgia, the foreign-born population that is eligible to vote
increased nearly 60 percent -- from about 159,000 in 2000 to 254,000
in 2006, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan
research group in Washington.

Among the foreign-born in Georgia, about 47 percent are Hispanic.

In Ohio, the foreign-born population that is eligible to vote
increased about 13 percent -- from 165,000 in 2000 to 186,000 in 2006,
according to the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan research
group in Washington.

Among the foreign-born in Ohio, about 17 percent are Hispanic.

The American Civil Liberties Union, a civil rights group, is
distributing hundreds of thousands of voter empowerment cards in 32
states, including many translated into eight languages, to assist
immigrant voters who may not have a strong grasp of English.

The cards summarize basic state and federal election laws and list
emergency contact numbers for voters to call if they encounter
problems at the polls.

Concern over intimidation of Latino voters has already prompted legal action.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a
Hispanic advocacy group, filed a lawsuit this week on behalf of two
newly naturalized U.S. citizens in Albuquerque, N.M.

The suit alleges that the lead plaintiff, Dora Escobedo, was harassed
by a man claiming to be an investigator after she voted in the June
primary. The man accused her of being a fraudulent voter and
threatened to call federal authorities, the suit says.

Nina Perales, a counsel at MALDEF and lead attorney for the
plaintiffs, said that "threats and intimidation" against Latino voters
violate federal law and "will not be tolerated."

The campaign of Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the Democratic
presidential candidate, said this week it is also concerned about
Latino voter suppression.

Manuel Diaz, the mayor of Miami and a surrogate for Obama, said that
Latino voters in Dade County, Fla., have received phone calls
instructing them to cast votes by phone, which is not a legal way to
vote.

Democrats are particularly concerned about the issue because Hispanics
tend to vote Democratic by a 2 to 1 margin and polls this year show
that they heavily favor Obama.

Simon Rosenberg, president of the Democratic group NDN, said Latino
voters are galvanized because of the national discussion on
immigration.

"Many Hispanics felt threatened by the public debate, so they made a
decision that it was time to get in the game," he said.

A recent poll by the National Association of Latino Elected and
Appointed Officials showed that 90 percent of registered Latino voters
in key battleground states -- including Florida, Colorado and Nevada
-- were "almost certain" they would vote in November.

 http://www.dailyadvance.com/election-2008/groups-protect-new-american-voters-220558.html

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