Colorado Politics

Report details contributions and potential strength of Hispanic voters, comprising 12.5% of electorate

Nationwide, one out of eight eligible voters is Hispanic or Latino, with registered Hispanic voters turning out at rates exceeding 80% in presidential elections, a new report found.

New American Economy, a pro-immigrant research organization, evaluated the demographics, voting statistics and economic contributions of Hispanics in the United States between 2010 and 2017, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

In Colorado, the Hispanic population grew by 15% in those seven years, to more than 1.2 million. Immigrants comprise less than one-quarter of that demographic. North Dakota experienced the highest rate of growth: its Hispanic population more than quintupled from the 1,310 people in 2010.

While nationally, between 80% and 83% of registered Hispanics voted in recent presidential elections, nearly 11.4 million people are eligible to vote, but unregistered. There are 21.7 million U.S.-born Hispanics and an additional 7.1 million who are foreign-born eligible voters, making up 12.5% of the potential voting population. In some states, the Hispanic voting share is more than double or triple the national average. New Mexico’s potential electorate is nearly 43% Hispanic and California’s is 30%.

“Since turnout rates are high among Hispanics, the second fastest-growing segment of the electorate, investments in voter registration among Hispanics are also critical to increase Hispanic voting participation,” the organization wrote. “Yet, of the ever-increasing expenditures in election cycles, very little goes toward voter registration. The importance of these investments becomes more acute with nearly one million Latino Americans turning 18 every year.”

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