Voting Participation of Latino Groups in “New” Destinations

Abstract

Latino immigrants in the United States are a rapidly growing demographic. Currently, over 60 million Latino immigrants and those of Latino origin reside in the United States, making it the largest minority in the country. Though, the size of the population does not translate to electoral or political power, subsequently earning the term, “sleeping giant.” This phenomenon and the current trend of Latinos migrating to “new” destinations have opened a new discussion. A discussion that revolves around a large, Democratic-leaning base migrating into Republican-led states, asks the question of whether these “red” states will become “purple” or even “blue” states. Before, the possibility of answering a complex question, my research will attempt to lay a foundation. A foundation created by analyzing the differences in voting and political participation of three Latino nationality groups: Mexican, Cuban, and Salvadorans, in “new” destinations and “traditional” destinations. The methods I will be conducting for this research project include gathering my secondary data using the Current Population Survey (CPS) from IPUMS. I will be using data from the three national elections, those being 2016, 2018, and 2020. The research questions guiding this project include, first, what are the comparisons and differences between Mexicans, Cubans, and Salvadorans in the United States? Secondly, how do Mexican, Cuban and Salvadoran generational differences compare in voting participation? Lastly, what are the statistical differences in Mexicans, Cubans, and Salvadorans’ voting participation in national elections between “new destinations” and “traditional” destinations?

Details

Session 1

9:30am – 11:00am

Grand Salon