New Latinx Voters: Political Incorporation and Participation in the U.S.

• In Event: Mobilization, Civic Engagement, and Resilience

Abstract

Research on Latinx political participation has focused on electoral participation despite the fact that there is a large proportion of Americans with Latin American heritage that are not eligible to vote. Latinx voters are analyzed comparatively next to African Americans and whites and most often treated as a single group. Alternatively, when non-electoral participation is considered, the variation in generation of migration, national origin, sex, and socioeconomic status are clearly important in explaining the activities outside of electoral politics in which Latinos and Latinas take part. This study begins by disaggregating the Latinx population, starting first with level of incorporation as a function of eligibility to register and vote, citizenship status, and degree of resources (i.e., education, income, English-language ability). We analyze data from the 2016 CMPS, comparing the political behavior of Latinx Americans with African Americans, Asian Americans, and whites, and supplementing our findings with data from prior data collections of minority Americans (i.e., LNS, NAAS, NBPS). We find that factors that traditionally predict political participation (socioeconomic status, education) pose a different effect for various Latinx groups. Additionally, analyzing specifically non-electoral political participation sheds light on the ways in which Latinx Americans are politically engaged in politics besides voting.

Authors

• Nancy Hernandez, University of Southern California

• Claudia Sandoval, Loyola Marymount University