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Title: Why the Giant Sleeps So Deeply: Political Consequences of Individual-Level Latino Demographics

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2011

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Abstract: Objectives. We seek to examine what common characteristics Latino voters share distinctively from nonvoting Latinos and how they differ from those of non-Latino voters. Methods. We use the method of classification tree to find what variables best describe the shared characteristics of Latino and non-Latino voters. Results. The results indicate that age, the strength of partisanship, and the level of education characterize both Latino and non-Latino voters. However, there is a sharp difference in how age interacts with other the two variables. In the Latino sample, the overwhelming majority of younger people do not turn out to vote, and it is among older Latinos that education and partisanship play an important role in distinguishing voters and nonvoters. By contrast, among non-Latinos, it is younger people whose participation is sensitive to the level of education or strength of partisanship, while the older are overwhelmingly voters regardless of other factors. Conclusions. At the individual level, Latinos in the United States still face substantial barriers in political incorporation: in contrast to non-Latinos, they do not seem to develop the habit of voting even after they have aged enough, unless they are helped by higher levels ofeducation or stronger partisanship. At the aggregate level, the pool of Latino likely voters is relatively small, which in turn emphasizes the potential significance of the GOTV campaigns in increasing participation rates among Latinos.

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Authors: de la Garza, Rodolfo O.; Jang, Seung-Jin

Periodical (Full): Social Science Quarterly

Issue: 4

Volume: 92

Pages: 895-916

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Other, Race and Ethnicity

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