Click here to view the complete study as an Adobe Acrobat PDF.

Latino electoral participation in Arizona has not increased appreciably over the last 25 years, either in terms of voter registration or voter participation. Latino voters are far less likely to register or vote than Arizona blacks or Anglo whites, and in more recent years registration and participation have lagged the national averages. However, Anglo white and black participation in Arizona also lags the rest of the nation, possibly a function of the ever-growing population of the state.

In 2004, 30.5 percent of Latinos were registered to vote, while 61.4 percent of whites were. However, citizen based data for Latino participation presents a more favorable picture of Latino voter progress in Arizona--in 2004, for example, 56.3 percent of the adult Latino citizens in Arizona registered compared with 57.9 percent of the Latino voting age citizens in the nation. This pattern is evident in turnout rates as well. In 2004, 47.06 percent of Arizona’s Latino citizens voted, while nationwide, 47.16 percent of Latinos did.

Latino legislative representation still lags the proportion Hispanic in the population for the state legislature, though the congressional delegation has achieved proportionality with two of eight congressmen from the state being Latino candidates of choice who are Latinos. In statewide election, Latino-preferred Anglo candidates are highly competitive, winning statewide office.

Edward Blum is a visiting fellow at AEI.