F. Chris Garcia

Latino Voting Participation: Explaining and Differentiating Latino Voting Turnout

Latinos orHispanics are the distinctive ethnic groups most rapidly increasing in numbers in the United States. Yet, this notably burgeoning population is disproportionately underresearched and underrepresented. Research exploring the reasons for the low levels of participation and representation is greatly hampered by the failure of research organizations to collect adequate data on Latinos as well as the misconception of the characteristics of this group. The Latino National Political Survey (LNPS) provides an unprecedented opportunity to begin analyzing the Latino political communities. This study analyzes some of the characteristics of Latinos that affect voting participation. Using the LNPS data, selected sociodemographic indexes correlated with voter turnout are examined. Logistic regression models empirically demonstrate the importance of distinguishing among subgroups and also confirms that socioeconomic factors, most notably life-cycle effect variables, are of critical significance in predicting voter turnout.

Latino Participation, Partisanship, and Office Holding

University of Arizona Harry Pachon, Claremont Graduate School The Latino population in the United States is growing rapidly, and one possible consequence is increased political participation and empowerment. Another consequence may be that Latino communities, voters, and interests face increasing marginalization and discrimination. Whatever scenario one envisions, several realities are clear. Latino political mobilization is difficult because of

Despite the odds: How to wage and project a successful write-in campaign

Successful write-in campaigns in major elections are extremely rare occurrences but they do occur, and they may reveal much about American electoral behavior. A model which identifies the preconditions for write-in contention is presented. The model hypothesizes that a precipitous event or chain of events must create a volatile electoral situation. Secondly, the write-in candidate must be able to manipulate the opportunity to his/her advantage. Finally, write-in voters must be willing and able to write-in a candidates name. The determinants for write-in success and voter participation are found to be similar to the determinants that are influential in conventional elections: campaign strategy, candidate support bases, and voter intensity and awareness. But conventional survey research techniques and measures of voter support are of limited use in the write-in situation. A number of write-in ‘controls’ are presented which provide a much firmer basis for gauging and projecting voter support.

Hispanics and the U.S. political system : moving into the mainstream

UNIT I: THE CONTEXT AND SYSTEM ENVIRONMENT Chapter 1: The People, Politics, Power and the US Political System Chapter 2: Attitudinal, Constitutional and Historical Settings Chapter 3: The Demographic and Socioeconomic Settings UNIT II: INPUTS Chapter 4: Supports, Interests and Resources Chapter 5: Latino Public Opinion, Political Socialization and Political Culture Chapter 6: Participation--Voting and the Electoral Process Chapter 7: Participation--Collective Action: Interest Groups, Organizations Coalitions and Leadership Chapter 8: Participation--Political Parties and Political Ideology UNIT III: CONVERSION AND DECISION MAKING Chapter 9: Representation--Representatives, Reapportionment and Redistricting Chapter 10: The National Government and Latinos Chapter 11: Latinos in State and Local Governments UNIT IV: OUTPUTS OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM Chapter 12: Latinos and Public Policies Chapter 13: Summary, Some Observations and Conclusion

The Recruitment and Retention of Minority Graduate Students in Political Science

The recruitment and retention of minority graduate students as well as undergraduate students and faculty was seen as a matter of continuing concern. Edmund Keller noted that there is still a great underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in our discipline in spite of attention being focused on this issue for the past couple of decades. Additional difficulties in this area have stemmed from the current social and political atmosphere which is not very supportive of affirmative action programs. Additionally, many colleges and universities over the past few years have experienced serious financial difficulties which have reduced the availability of financial support for students.

Do "Latinos" Exist?@@@Latino Voices: Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban Perspectives on American Politics.@@@Latinos and the U.S. Political System: Two-Tiered Pluralism.

Tables and Figures Preface Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Theoretical Perspectives and Latino Politics 3. The History and Socioeconomic Status of Latino Groups 4. Political Participation 5. Latinos and the National Government 6. Latinos and State Politics 7. The Elections of Federico Pena 8. Latinos and Urban Politics 9. Latinos and Public Policies 10. The Study of Latino Politics: Questions and Issues 11. Latinos and the Political System: Two-Tiered Pluralism Notes References Index

Book Review: Latino Ethnic ConsciousnessLatino Ethnic Consciousness. By PadillaFelix M.Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1985. Pp. 187.

persecution or military conscription during the unsettled times before and after the 1848 revolution. The Wisconsin Germans were a heterogeneous group, divided by diversity of regional origin as well as religion. Unlike some of the states other national groups, they found it difficult to unite on political issues, though on one occasion the entire German immigrant community was galvanized into common political action. This was in 1889 when a state law sought to restrict the use of foreign languages for instructional purposes in schools. But in spite of their tendency toward political disparity, the Germans in Wisconsin were sometimes able to make a significant imprint on the states political history. This happened, for example, when German-born voters gave broad support to Socialist and Populist political candidates who opposed U.S. entry into the First World War. Despite their great importance, the Germans were never more than one immigrant group in a state which, at every period in history, has been characterized by a diversity of national groups. Among the earliest settlers in the state were some 7,000 Cornish miners attracted to the lead-mining region around Mineral Point. British, Irish and Scandinavian immigrants played an important role in the early history of the state, while the Poles emerged as a major ethnic community in the early twentieth century, with increased numbers of Italians and East European Jews arriving during the same period. Following the Second World War there was a new wave of immigrants from Eastern Europe: Poles, Czechs, Ukrainians and displaced persons from the Baltic states, among others. Recent years have witnessed a steadily increasing immigration of Hispanics. Rippleys book appears to have succeeded as an effort to depict the history of a state in terms of changing patterns of ethnicity through time. The same approach might, it would seem, be applied with equal success to other regions. Wisconsin, however, particularly lends itself to this kind of treatment, not only because of its ethnic diversity but also because of the way in which this diversity evolved.

Book Review: Chicanos and Native Americans: The Territorial MinoritiesChicanos and Native Americans: The Territorial Minorities. By De La GarzaR. O., KruszewskiZ. A. and ArciniegaT. A., eds. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1973. Pp. 205.

rule of others must go aside to affirm themselves as a people. After all a system of rule generations old burns deeply into the psyches of a people. The debate that goes on among the people is crucial to give them a sense of self-confidence, purpose and provides a legitimate outlet for repressed anger. But this withdrawal to plan and build pride along racial lines must be temporary. It prepares people to return in order to forge a more inclusive human community to replace the racist linkages that were rejected. To simply impose power-racist relations on Anglos would be the same old politics. Chicanos and other minorities are in a unique position in this country to give the whole of the political process a more creative turn by refusing to repeat the oppression.