Campaign issues attract Hispanic vote

By Ryan Smith

As the presidential race pushes on toward election day, the fastest-growing minority group in the United States is preparing itself to make the biggest difference at the polls.

Faced with historically low voter turnout, Hispanic leaders are hoping that lingering concerns about education and immigration rights, coupled with doubts about the war in Iraq, will generate enough interest to draw Hispanics back into the election process.

“Hispanics are going to come out in bigger numbers,” said Fresno State’s Chicano and Latin American Studies chair, Juan Herrera.

“At this moment there is a very assertive drive to get more Hispanics registered (to vote).”

More so than previous elections, there are a number of issues on the ballot that directly affect the Hispanic community. Among those issues, the driver’s license bill, anti-immigration laws, education, health care and the war in Iraq are the most pressing.

Julie Griffiths, an aide for state assembly candidate Paul Betancourt (R-Los Angeles), said their campaign was focused on trying to diversify the economy, strengthen local schools and make access to extended education easier for minority students.

While Herrera said seeing these issues addressed on a political level is an important step forward for Hispanics living in the United States, he said it still is not enough.

One of the biggest reasons Hispanics have not been more active voters in the past is because many of them feel jaded by the political process, Herrera said.

“Some are just kind of frustrated and feel like they haven’t been treated the way they should be.”
Herrera said that while voting and politics feel All-American, sometimes they are only partially American.

“It’s all about trust. Do we trust the system? We have been promised a lot for a long time and when it’s all said and done, nothing has happened,” Herrera said. “The candidates need to not only address immigration and education but make it more palatable for the Latino community.”

While Herrera and the rest of the Hispanic community wait for one of the candidates to focus more specifically on their issues, registering Hispanics to vote is just as important, he said.

In an effort to educate Hispanics about voter registration, MEChA, a campus organization advocating the empowerment of Hispanic students, is working to build a coalition of many different community groups to help get out the vote.

“There are so many propositions out there that the community doesn’t know about, and with help from MEChA—we usually go to students and the community and let them know about what’s happening,” said the group’s chair, Manuel Sanchez.

While many of the issues facing Hispanics on a national level reflect concerns students at Fresno State have, Sanchez said, for students, the war and education are the “most effective issues” candidates could campaign.

“What stand the candidates take on the war will be the deciding factor in who will get the minority vote,” Sanchez said. “I think students are also concerned about the outreach services and EOP.

“These are programs that help minority students and the rest of the community, and the services available to them are being cut because there are no funds and no staff.”

Despite concerns that neither President Bush nor Senator John Kerry has made enough of a commitment to the Hispanic community, Herrera still believes this election year will demonstrate just how influential Hispanics can be in the election.

“The candidates have not delivered. It’s like one hand is shaking your hand while the other is driving a stick in your ribs, but I think that might change, though, this election,” Herrera said.