News Roundup: How Latinos and Immigrant Voters Decided This Election

I’m just going to let these speak for themselves:

CNN: Latino voters tip balance

Washington Post: Barack Obama built his victory in Florida

New York Times: Obama Wins Election; McCain Loses as Bush Legacy Is Rejected

Dallas Morning News: Obama wins over nation’s Hispanic voters, exit polls show

Associated Press: Obama buoyed by Hispanic voters

Miami Herald: Obama won big among Hispanics — with GOP’s help

Miami Herald: Blacks, Hispanics signal Florida shift 

Newsweek: Obama’s Latino Edge

CNN: Latinos fleeing GOP

San Diego Union Tribune: Region’s Latinos get out the vote

Market Watch: Unprecedented Latino Voter Turnout Plays Critical Role in Early Outcome of the Presidential Election

Market Watch: Freddy Balsera: ‘How Obama Closed the Deal With Hispanics’

New Immigrant Voter Story: Irma Palacios

Irma Palacios came to the United States from Mexico and last July she became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Like many new citizens, she immediately registered to vote – she was eager to be a part of the democratic process.

This morning she cast her ballot for the first time. The smile on her face speaks to the empowering and joyous experience of first-time voters across the country.

Irma, like so many other immigrants, truly reflects the American Dream.

Yesterday, she marched. Today, she voted.

UPDATE: Community Values Vote

Links and stories from the grassroots at Community Values Vote!

TENNESSEE: ChangeMemphis GOTV Phonebanking

Less than 12 hours before polls open, a committed group of youth is hard at work making sure that their community gets out to vote tomorrow!

These youth, part of a Metropolitan Interfaith Association student program, are making hundreds of calls and fielding dozens of requests for polling information, rides to the polls and other assistance.

Read the full post here.

 

MASSACHUSETTS: The Alliance to Develop Power Gets Out the Vote

Our friends at the Alliance to Develop Power (ADP) held a massive registration drive and rally last week.

The event brought over 500 ADP leaders, community members and allies together as they energized their base of community values voters heading into the election.

Read the full post here.

NEVADA: Progressive Leadership Alliance Invests in Young Volunteers

Even though Nevada has been considered a bastion of voter and civic apathy, the Progressive Leadership Alliance is getting historically underrepresented communities invested in the promise of social, economic and political change.

“The results have been dramatic,” said Beverly Rodriguez, a PLAN organizer. “We focused on the communities of new citizens, particularly Hispanics, and we’ve turned out thousands of new voters.”

Read the full post here.

 

New American Vote Trumps Nativist Dogma

Angela Kelley has a great piece up at the Huffington Post about the New American voters and their power to overcome divisive anti-immigrant rhetoric during the upcoming election.

FBI reports don’t get a lot of attention, especially in the final days of a Presidential election season, but this week’s release reporting on a 40% increase in anti-Latino hate crimes should at least give us pause. The report’s findings are consistent with the swelling nativist movement that has become larger and more vitriolic in recent years and its impact undeniable as anti-Latino hate crime incidents reach unprecedented levels.

The nativists, ranging from skinhead extremists to your everyday politician or cable news anchor, and fueled by an administration myopic in its pursuit of deportation only proposals, are taking its toll on the immigrant and Latino community. A September survey by the Pew Hispanic Center shows half of all Latinos, immigrant and non-immigrant, say that their situation in this country is deteriorating and is worse now than it was a year ago. One-in-ten Hispanic adults–native-born U.S. citizens and immigrants alike–report that, in the past year, the police or other authorities have stopped them and asked them about their immigration status.

We are Getting out the Vote!

All across the country, advocates are helping to mobilize the immigrant vote. During the upcoming election, these new voters’ voices will be heard in unprecendented numbers.

As Henry Fernandez reported at ThinkProgress:

A recent NALEO Educational Fund poll found that an astonishing 90% of Latinos in battleground states (Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and New Mexico) say they are certain to vote.

Why does this matter? The vote count gurus over at FiveThirtyEight.com rank Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico as top “tipping point states,” meaning a state that in a close national election would alter the outcome if decided differently.

That’s right. The work that is being done by Immigrant Rights groups across the nation will be a major part of next week’s Election outcome. Here is a run down of our folks on the ground and the amazing work they are doing.

In Chicago:

Spotlight ICIRR: 25,815 Voter Registrations!

Congratulations to our partners at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugees Rights (ICIRR)! They have successfully registered 25,815 people in the immigrant community to vote. That is an astounding number!

Thanks to the work of organizations like ICIRR, the immigrant vote will be counted in record numbers during the upcoming election.

ICIRR and its’ member organizations announced success today in registering 25,815 voter registrations in the immigrant community through the New Americans Democracy Project “Our Vote is Power” campaign. The next step is to “Get-Out-The-Vote” (GOTV) through an unprecedented effort that includes direct contact with over 144,000 immigrant voters through a combination of door-knocking, direct mailers, door-hangers, live and robo-calls. The New Americans Democracy Project has raised over $1 million for their voter registration and GOTV efforts.
 
ICIRR’s New Americans Democracy Project (NADP) “Our Vote is Power” campaign aims to build support of elected officials for immigrants to win a fair and humane immigration reform. With 20 campaign fellows (full time immigrant field organizers) a total of 2,565 Election Day volunteers will work in 694 precincts and target over 144,000 immigrant voters to bring to the polls on Election Day.

Get out the (immigrant) vote!

Today the Chicago Tribune is running a story on groups working to register immigrant voters for the upcoming election. Organizations like the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and other FIRM (the Fair Immigration Reform Movement) allies are working to win greater influence over immigration policy decisions during the next administration.

With voter turnout at record levels, a strong immigrant showing could help re-energize federal discussions about legalization, school funding, neighborhood safety and other issues, said Juan Salgado, president of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which is helping coordinate the effort.

Click here for the full article.

Get out the immigrant vote!

Amidst the lead-up to the 2008 election, Get Out the Vote efforts are gearing up to register new voters before November. Listen as FIRM’s Nicola Wells interviews Juan Jose Gonzalez, field coordinator for the New Americans Democracy Project at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. The organization is running a killer electoral campaign. Listen to their tips and Juan Jose’s story.