An Investigation of Latino Participation in Politics Essay -- Politica

An Investigation of Latino Participation in Politics This research examines the disjuncture between Hispanic strength in population and Hispanic participation in politics. I examine the nature of this disjuncture: its severity, its causes, and its consequences. Hispanics currently comprise 11.2% of the U.S. population, but the Hispanic vote in the 1998 elections comprised only 4.7% of all ballots cast. The situation is even bleaker when considering Hispanic representation in Congress. Currently, less than four percent of U.S. House members are Latino. Add to that clear disjuncture the fact that two of the Hispanic Congressmen do not even possess the ability to vote and that there is not a single Hispanic Senator, and we see that Hispanics lack a substantial voice in lawmaking.[1] Surely, the scarcity of Hispanic voters who vote accounts for much of this under-representation in Washington, D.C. Since the number of Hispanic voters severely understates recent Hispanic population increases in the last two decades, an in-depth investigation into the possible explanations of this disjuncture is needed in order to ensure Hispanics achieve a more active voice in American government. Yet, the causes of this disjuncture are not easily collapsed into a single explanation. Why do Latino participation levels not reflect relative strength in population? Is the discrepancy due mainly to the traditionally low socioeconomic characteristics of many minority adults, or is it due more to Latino-specific issues of language barriers and non-citizenship statuses? In this work, I investigate these central questions in an analysis of Hispanic political behavior. Previous Research A contemporary explanation of political participation is perha... ... [3] Question #43 from LNPS (ICPSR survey #6841) 4 Respondents were asked if they speak more Spanish than English, are equally bilingual, or speak more English than Spanish. Question #46 from LNPS: â€Å"How strong is your love for the U.S.? Is it: extremely/very/somewhat or not very strong?† 7 For a demonstrative case study, see coverage of the 1996 & 1998 congressional race between Loretta Sanchez and Bob Dornan for California’s 46th District seat. 8 Negative values in the beta weights and t-score values of â€Å"support bilingual† and â€Å"support immigration† may reflect the phraseology and response coding of survey questions 163 and 167b, in which responses are coded from strong support to low support. 9 I refer here to the anti-immigration referendums of the late 1990s, like Proposition 187 and 209 in California. 10 U.S. Census Bureau projections (1999)