Immigrant Voters Cast Their Ballots in Record Numbers

The following commentary was posted last week on BrazilianJournal.net, a monthly publication.

Immigrant voters cast ballots in record numbers in the 2008 presidential elections, particularly in Massachusetts where almost one in every four voters was born outside of the country. Will policymakers – including President-elect Obama – pay more attention to this growing electoral block?

By the time the dust settles in the presidential election, immigrant voters will have cast ballots in record numbers, according to statistics compiled by voting rights advocates. For many, it will be their first American election and the chance to flex political muscle.

In Massachusetts, massive-voter awareness programs that targeted immigrant groups helped deliver the historic turnout levels. According to a study commissioned by the Coalition of New American Voters, a non-partisan political action committee, more than 165,000 immigrants became citizens in this state this decade. And while immigrants form only 14% of the electorate nationwide, they are estimated to be 23% of the vote in Massachusetts.

A special state law even allowed for the several hundred newly-minted citizens, whose naturalization ceremonies came after the election’s registration deadline in mid-October, to be able to register with their certificates of naturalization – an expedited process many have utilized.

“Due to the growing demand, we've put out our voting guide in Spanish, Portuguese and other languages,” explained Avi Green, executive director of MassVOTE, a voting-rights organization. “In addition, you can learn how to vote in Boston online with viral videos in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Vietnamese.”

The excitement before Election Day among the thousands of first-time immigrant voters was palpable. Ruth Dubé, who arrived from Haiti in 1988, claimed she would be the first in line to cast her vote for Senator Barack Obama, whom she believed would change the country’s image abroad. While she was less confident in her home country’s abilities to accurately count her ballot, she had little worry in her adopted one.

José Pienasola, a Brazilian musician who previously worked in the health care industry, planned to cast his vote for Obama largely for his health care plan, although he expressed concern over reports about ballot machines malfunctioning and other irregularities.

“I’m very worried that some people’s votes may not be counted,” Pienasola warned. “The first time I voted [in the primaries] in this country, I was shocked by how old-fashioned the system seemed. In Brazil, where voting is mandatory, the process is modern and efficient.”

Despite the widespread use of undocumented immigrants as whipping posts in the 2006 mid-term elections, polarizing immigration issues largely disappeared from the front pages this year – perhaps a reflection of increased immigrant-voting power.

Pienasola, Dubé and Green all agreed that the new president would need to address immigrant issues or face electoral pressure. Pienasola expressed a hope that President-elect Obama would be able to solve the economic problems facing the nation as well as pass immigration reform soon.

Although exit poll statistics are still being compiled, it’s not clear what percentage of immigrant voters cast their ballots for the new president. However, according to an exit poll study released by the New York Times, almost 68% of voters who identified themselves as Latino voted for Obama – almost 15% points higher than the number that voted for Senator John Kerry, the previous Democratic presidential nominee.

“Remember the immigration marches, and those signs that said, ‘Today we march, tomorrow we vote?’” Green asked. “Well, it's tomorrow.”

source:  BrazilianJournal.net

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