Georgia: New immigrant voters play pivotal election role

Andres Guijon came to the United States from Mexico in 1968 to work temporarily in oil wells in Texas and pick seasonal produce across the country.

Forty years later, two years after becoming a citizen, the Dalton, Ga., resident will be able to cast his vote for a presidential candidate.

Although still not sure, he said he’s leaning toward Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

“I want the best one to win,” Mr. Guijon said. “But from what I’ve heard from both campaigns, I think Obama, at least at the beginning, addressed the issue of immigration more.”

Latino and Asian naturalized citizens and children of immigrants are a rapidly growing group and are likely “to play an increasingly pivotal role in elections at all levels in the years to come, particularly in battleground states like Florida, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico,” according to a report released by the Immigration Policy Institute.

New Americans — naturalized citizens and children of immigrants — were nearly 9 percent of all registered voters in 2006, the institute reported.

Michael Zhou, a Chinese immigrant who first came to the United States in 1986 as a student and returned in 1998 as a BlueCross BlueShield employee, said voting for the first time Tuesday gave him an opportunity to express his views.

“When we first come to the Western countries, either Canada or the United States, people always tell you, ‘If you want to have your voice be heard, step up and voice your concern,’ and I think that should be the way it is,” he said.

The institute report said 2008 is expected to be a banner year for new voters because of record-breaking naturalization rates of up to 3 million new citizens, as well as voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts in ethnic communities nationwide.

In 2008, the number of Hispanic voters is expected to surpass the 7.6 million votes cast in 2004, the report stated.

At the local and state levels, organizations such as the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials and Dalton’s Coalition of Latino Leaders actively have worked to register new voters.

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and volunteers across the state registered nearly 1,500 new voters from July through October, said Amelia Post, civic engagement organizer.

“It’s really amazing. We saw so much excitement around the election and participating and having a voice this year,” she said.

The efforts also focused on other immigrant communities, including the Sudanese and Kurdish.

In Whitfield County, there has been a 272 percent growth rate in Hispanic registered voters, from 669 registered in 2003 to 2,603 in October 2008, according to a report released by the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.

“Based on the growth demonstrated, the Latino electorate will begin to make significant impact on certain local elections, while also making a significant impact on the current competitive statewide races,” the association’s Executive Director Jerry Gonzalez in a news release.

Mr. Guijon is not expecting any candidate to keep all of the promises made during the campaign, but he hopes the next president will bring about change.

“Bush really hurt the country. He made the poor, poorer and the rich, richer. We need someone who represents us, as Hispanics,” he said.

Although he preferred not to say who he had voted for, Mr. Zhou said it’s time for a change.

“I think the last eight years, the Bush administration hasn’t done much for the average guy. It’s probably time for something to be different,” he said.