FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2012
CONTACT: Joe Shansky (414) 218-3331
The Latino vote in the battleground state of Wisconsin was critical nationally in helping to re-elect President Obama, with 65% of Latinos supporting him in the state, according to a report released yesterday by the Pew Hispanic Center entitled, “Latino Voters in the 2012 Election.”
In Wisconsin, Voces de la Frontera Action organized 250 volunteers in the past month leading up to the election and successfully mobilized Latino voters to re-elect President Obama and elect Tammy Baldwin to the US Senate. Voces de la Frontera Action focused our efforts in 22 Milwaukee wards, specifically in wards with the highest concentration of Latino voters.
Preliminary data in 9 of the wards Voces de la Frontera Action targeted showed an increase of voter turnout of around 68% compared to the 2008 presidential election. We knocked on 24,278 doors, and made 9,465 calls to Latino voters in the cities of Milwaukee, Kenosha, Green Bay, Lake Geneva, and Walworth County.
This also reflects a national trend, with Latinos representing the youngest and fastest growing ethnic group, and demonstrating their electoral power. According to the Pew Hispanic report, nationally, Latino voters were decisive in the presidential election, with 71% of Latino voters voting for Obama, while 27% voted for Romney.
According to Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director:
“Now is the time for bold and visionary action on federal immigration reform. The President’s move to provide relief to hundreds of thousands undocumented youth through deferred action, was instrumental in the remarkable Latino voter turnout that we saw on election night. But this support comes with a mandate.
We demand that President Obama and the US Congress prioritize federal immigration reform that keeps families together, protects workers rights, and provides a path to citizenship. It is within the power of the President to hold ICE accountable to their enforcement priorities and stop criminalizing immigrants that present no danger to society- and to grant meaningful relief to those facing deportation.”
In national exiting polls by CNN, 77% of Latino voters said that immigrants should be offered a chance to apply for legal status. Among all voters, 65% said these immigrants should be offered a chance to apply for legal status.
These election results show that for both Republicans and Democrats, standing in the way of immigration reform now will be at their own peril.
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