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“FOR THE LATINO COMMUNITY, WELL, I THINK FOR EVERYONE IN GENERAL, THE MAIN CONCERN IS THE ECONOMY, WHICH AFFECTS EVERYTHING,” SAID ANSELMO VILLAREAL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LA CASA DE ESPERANZA. “PLUS THE PRICE OF GAS, THE WAR IN IRAQ—BUT MOSTLY THE ECONOMY.”

Wisconsin’s Latinos Could Decide the Election
Lots of room for growth and influence
B Y L I S A K A I S E R

Sen. John Kerry barely squeaked out a victory in Wisconsin during the 2004 presidential election, with just 11,400 more votes than President George Bush. So it’s no wonder that community organ izers are working to register the tens of thou sands of Latino voters in Wisconsin who are eli gible to vote but don’t show up at the polls.

These new voters could decide the presidential election and affect races statewide. State figures show that only 35% of about 100,000 eligible Latino voters in Wisconsin are registered to vote, and just 33% actually vote on Election Day. The largest concentration of Wisconsin’s Latino voters is concentrated on Milwaukee’s South Side, which historically has low voter turnout.

“We are working to turn that around,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, founding executive director of the immi grants’ rights group Voces de la Frontera.

Milwaukee- and Racine-based Voces de la Frontera has already signed up more than 1,500 new voters this year, and increased Latino voter turnout in 2006 by 32%. Waukesha based La Casa de Esperanza has registered more than 130 peo ple with a goal of 400 in its third voter registration drive. The Urban League of Racine and Kenosha and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) are registering Latino voters in Kenosha.

Neumann-Ortiz said the biggest barriers for Latino voters are language and voter education. Voces, along with the ACLU of Wisconsin, advocated for Spanish-language bilingual ballot instructions and voter information at the polls in wards that have more than 40% Spanish-speaking voters. The new Spanish and English ballots, created by the city and state elec tion commissions, launched in the February primary election.

Voces is also providing information about the candidates’ policies and other ballot initiatives for Spanish speakers, along with tips on how to fill out a ballot and where to vote. Voces has also developed a political arm this year, Voces de la Frontera Action, which allows the organization to endorse candi dates and become involved in lobbying. But its voter registration drive and education are conducted by its nonpolitical entity.

Reaching Out to Latino Voters
Both Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain are reaching out to Latino voters, with personal appearances and paid ads. Both candidates spoke at national conventions of LULAC and La Raza to confirm their commitment to causes that are important to Latinos.

Both candidates have Spanish-language ads with messages tailored to Latino voters. Obama’s ads stress his biography as a self-made man who worked his way through college, the son of a single mother and an immigrant father, as well as his advoca cy for job-training programs, immigration reform and veterans.

Obama and the Democratic National Committee also announced a $20 million campaign to target Latino voters, especially those in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and

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Voter Drive | Photos by Dave Moore of Voces de la Frontera