Politics is full of references likening one group or another to a “sleeping giant,” a powerful voting bloc that could change the outcome in any given election.
In California, it’s almost always used to describe Latino voters. While now the state’s single largest ethnicity, Latinos often are underrepresented on election day with lackluster turnout that continues to be one of the state’s most perplexing political dynamics.
Since 2000, California has been a majority-minority state where no racial group holds a numerical majority. Yet California’s democracy does not accurately reflect that demographic reality. Several studies have documented the significant racial disparities that persist in voting in presidential and statewide elections. These studies, however, provide only a partial window into the problem of class and racial inequalities in California’s democracy.
Unequal Voices: California’s Racial Disparities in Political Participation, the first report in a two-part series, broadens public understanding of political participation in California by providing a concise analysis of voting and other forms of participation.
2016 promises to be a pivotal year for Latinos in California.
Having emerged as the state's largest ethnic group, the lationo community's ability to attain a quality education, work in a career suited for the new eceonomy, afford to buy a home and be reflected in our representative government are at a crossroads.
Throughout its history, California has held a place in the country's imagination where dreams could be realized and opporunity abounded. For generations of newcomers to this golden place, California has always delivered on that promise.
Unfortunately for this new generation of Californians, that promise is at risk. Our middle class is shrinking, poverty is increasing, and the gap between the haves and the have-nots is growing. By nearly all indicators, Latinos are disproportionately affected by these trends.
Want to know more? Read the full report!