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 affaire 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 just now 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 item 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 deprivation a substantial example 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 populatio n 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 recounting 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 actors line barriers and non-citizenship statuses? In this work, I investigate these central questions in an analysis of Hispanic political behavior.Previous ResearchA 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 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 reporting of the 1996 & 1998 congressional race between Loretta Sanchez and Bob Dornan for Californias 46th District seat. 8 Negative values in the beta weights and t-score values of support bilingual and 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)