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Restrictive voting laws threaten to block
millions of Latino voters, including many
newly-naturalized
By Michele Waslin
Naturalization and voter registration
rates have surged in recent
months, but strict new voter laws
in many states are threatening to reduce
the number of Latinos voters
(including many newly naturalized)
who will be allowed to cast ballots.
More than 185,000 citizenship
applications were submitted
in the final three
months of 2015, which
is a 14 percent increase
from 2014 and up 8 percent
compared with the
same period ahead of
the 2012 elections. According
to the Houston
Chronicle, in Texas,
naturalization ceremonies
in Houston have
swelled to about 2,200
per month, compared
with 1,200 before, and more than
80 percent of those naturalized then
register to vote, compared with 60
percent previously.
Experts are attributing the surge
in naturalization to Donald Trump’s
anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy
positions during the presidential
campaign. Ben Monterroso, executive
director of Mi Familia Vota
said, “A surge in Latino engagement
is coming. Unsolicited, people tell
you that ‘I’m becoming a citizen because
I want to vote against Donald
Trump’ or ‘I want to vote against the
attacks on our community.’ ”
But a new report from the National
Association of Latino Elected
8
and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
finds that eight million Latino voters
could be impacted by new voting
laws. First, in 2013 the Supreme
Court invalidated a provision of the
Voting Rights Act that which obligated
certain states with a history of
discrimination to obtain “pre-clearance”
from the U.S. Department of
Justice to make any modifications
of electoral laws. According to NA-
LEO, approximately 8 million Latino
voters live in jurisdictions that
must no longer be pre-cleared by
the federal government despite their
histories of discriminatory voting
practices.
At the state level, nineteen states
have enacted or implemented
new restrictive laws since
the November 2012 election
that will make it harder for
some voters to cast ballots in
2016. Eight states have laws
that make it more difficult
to register to vote by making
voters register much
further in advance, restricting
community volunteers
from helping with voter registration
efforts, or requiring
additional documentation.
Six states have laws making it more
difficult to vote by shortening early
voting periods, and another six have
placed restrictions on absentee voting.
Finally, nine states have passed
voter ID laws, requiring potential
voters to present certain documents
More on page 42
Photo: Sebastiaan