An SVREP Campaign
Cuando Vota Una LATINA, Vota Una Familia!

Out of 12 million registered Latinos, 10 million to cast their vote in 2008
54 percent of these registered voters will be Latinas, and 54 percent of votes cast will be from the Latina Vote.

This Presidential election cycle promises to be interesting and exciting for the Latino electorate. Latino voters will play a key role in determining the primary and general elections. More specifically, Latinas, we believe, are key to this election cycle.

As a result, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP) kicked off the Latina Vote Campaign, Cuando Vota Una Latina, Vota Una Familia - a nonpartisan effort to register and mobilize 100,000 Latina voters in preparation for next year’s general election cycle. SVREP seeks to crystallize the moment in our time in history – a moment where Latinos are the largest and fastest growing electorate.

Latino leaders will define America’s body politic. The way we work arduously to positively influence our children’s educational needs, the attack on the immigrant community and our communities will define us. And - as Latinas it is our responsibility to make sure that our families play a critical role in history by registering and voting this election cycle.
An important trend during the 10-year cycle between 1996 and 2006 was the growth of the Latino vote. During these cycles Latinos were the fastest growing major ethnic group in terms of voter registration. Our numbers grew by approximately 1.6 million voters from 2000 to 2004. Probably as important is the fact that the share of registration and votes cast by Latinos also increased rapidly. In sum, most indicators of comparative political influence show rapid gains by Latinos.

It is now common to hear opinion leaders and the media comment on the growing importance and impact of the Latino vote in states and localities across the country. Both major political parties are increasing efforts to reach Latino voters because they realize that they must maintain or expand their share of the Latino vote in order to gain or maintain their place in power.

Yet, much work remains to be done. Massive numbers of Latinos still remain unregistered. Despite the rapid rate of increase in Latino registration, researchers estimate that nearly 6.7 million eligible Latinos are unregistered today.

Consequently, SVREP has taken on the challenge to register and mobilize the Latina vote, and as a result, cultivate a new family tradition. Our goal is to inspire families to carry out their traditions and vote as one unit. The slogan says it best: cuando Vota Una Latina, Vota Una Familia. It says it all - it captures the essence of our thinking - when a Latina votes, so does her entire extended family.

Overall, SVREP seeks to catalyze a national movement to raise the Latino vote to 12 million registered Latino voters and 10 million votes cast for the 2008 general presidential elections, compared to 9.3 million registered Latino voters and 7.5 million votes cast in 2004. According to the William C. Velásquez Institute (WCVI), 54 percent of the Latino votes cast in the 2008 general election will be made by a Latina.

SVREP nonpartisan efforts will register and mobilize 500,000 new Latino voters. Along with the Latina Vote Campaign, SVREP will register and mobilize Latino voters through the YouthVote Campaign - a high school and college-based voter registration; the Campaign for Communities, a faith-based effort that will register and turnout Latinos; and, Movimiento 10/12, a community-based effort that will register and turnout Latinos focused on local issues and local elections. Movimento 10/12 is a partnership amongst a group of national Latino organizations that will each register thousands of Latinos in preparation for the elections in 2008. The Movimento partners are Hispanic Federation, LCLAA, LULAC, NALACC and SVREP.

LATINA Style Magazine and SVREP are partnering as part of the Latina Vote Campaign to make sure that we register and mobilize Latinas in the workplace. Through this effort, we anticipate that Latina business owners, CEO’s, and heads of nonprofits will do their part by registering their Latina employees, friends and families online. You can register today online, log on to www.svrep.org. Recuerda que, as our motto states, “Su Voto Es Su Voz.” or, your vote is your voice.

SVREP’s vision, and that of our founder the legendary Willie Velásquez, is for Latinos to live in a society that is just, fair and respectful of all communities, as well as open up doors of opportunities to our communities whether they arrived this morning, or they were part of those welcoming immigrants who arrived through Ellis Island.
Join us in this movement to keep America true to her best ideals!

By Lydia Camarillo