HISPANIC VOTE IN U.S. GROWING
LARGER, BUT DIVERSE   

Hispanics are an important political force in the United States. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population now is roughly equal to the African American population -- at just over 30 million people, but growing more rapidly. "Hispanics are wielding a greater influence in America than ever before," says Ana Radelat of Hispanic Magazine.

The voting age population of Hispanics has increased 25 percent this decade to approximately 20 million, and Hispanics will be the largest minority group by 2015 in the United States if current trends continue, the Census Bureau says. Moreover, the data indicate that a greater percentage of Hispanics is voting. For example, only 15 percent of newly registered Hispanics voted in California and Texas in 1990. But in 1996, two-thirds did -- a higher turnout rate than for the overall electorate.

However, whereas African Americans vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party, Hispanics, although voting preponderantly Democratic, are much more diverse in their party affiliation and voting behavior, explains Rudolfo De La Garza, an expert on the Hispanic vote and a professor at the University of Austin in Texas. That's one big reason why the Hispanic vote is being aggressively courted by both Vice President Al Gore and Texas Republican Governor George W. Bush. Both candidates speak Spanish.

A major reason why the Hispanic vote is diverse in the United States is that Latinos emigrated here from some 20 different countries, De La Garza continues. "Their experience in the United States is much less uniform than African Americans. The interests of Mexicans and their descendants in California, for example, tend to be very different than the interests of Cubans and their descendants in Florida. In addition, the racial makeup of the Hispanic population is diverse. Most classify themselves as white, but a significant minority regard themselves as persons of color." For these and other reasons, there is a lack of political cohesion in the Hispanic community that is likely to continue, he adds.

Currently, 44 percent of Hispanics say they are Democrats, 16 percent Republicans, and 40 percent independents, according to a recent survey conducted by the Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University. The same survey showed most Latinos supporting larger government but a conservative position on social issues -- in effect, a mixture of conservative and liberal views. The large number of independents among Hispanic voters and the difficulty in clearly labeling them as conservatives or liberals is one reason they are being so assiduously pursued by both major political parties, according to analysts.

One concern for the Republicans is a perceived insensitivity to minorities, says Ronald Elving, author of a publication titled, Courting the Hispanic Vote. Elving says Republicans "in the 1980s, did relatively well among Hispanic voters overall," but that ebbed in the 1990s because of Republican support for measures viewed by many Hispanics as anti-immigration and anti-minority. As a result, Hispanics supported Bill Clinton overwhelmingly in 1992 and 1996. Clinton won over 75 percent of the Hispanic vote in 1996.

According to the Census Bureau, California has the largest Hispanic population in the United States at just under 10 million people, followed by Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois. These are large states critical to any candidate who wants to win the presidency. Together, their combined vote in the Electoral College constitutes more than half of what a candidate needs to win the White House.