SPRINGDALE : Dems hit the road for Hispanic votes
Posted on Sunday, February 24, 2008
SPRINGDALE — Local Democrats canvassed Hispanic neighborhoods Saturday in hopes of registering new voters.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas is reaching out to Hispanic voters with teams in each of the state’s four congressional districts.
Peter Grumble, the state party’s deputy field director, said canvassing is the most successful way of getting votes.
In the 3 rd Congressional District in Northwest Arkansas, which is home to the state’s largest Hispanic population, two “co-vice presidents” work to recruit new voters in person.
Diana Gonzales Worthen shares responsibility for the group with Susana O’Daniel.
“Our thinking is to let them know they’re Democrats, even though they may not have known it,” O’Daniel said. “They may feel disenfranchised. We want them to know we’re the party coming to them. We’re the party that’s reaching out.” Karen Ray, executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas, said the GOP also has a Hispanic coalition. It’s inactive now but will ramp up with other outreach and registration efforts in the spring, Ray said.
Spanish music reverberated from garages and vehicles Saturday as Worthen and another canvasser made their way down Electric Avenue. A light rain tapered off as they knocked on doors and spoke in either Spanish or English, whichever was more comfortable for the person who answered.
Worthen handed a voter registration card to Phillipe Razo at Razo’s home.
Razo said he can’t register because he is in the process of becoming a citizen. Still, he took two registration forms, one each in Spanish and English. One is for him after he becomes a citizen and the other is for his sister, who is nearing citizenship, he said.
On Friday, Worthen, who ran unsuccessfully for a state House seat in 2006, said she found during door-to-door campaigns that voters in Hispanic neighborhoods enjoyed the personal visits. Many seemed pleasantly surprised by them, she said.
“They appreciated people going and talking to them one-onone,” Worthen said. “Across the nation, Latino voters have not been as engaged as we’d like them to be. We’re trying to register voters but also engage them.” O’Daniel said the Democrats’ Hispanic caucus is as diverse as the state’s Hispanic community. Some are immigrants, and some, like her, have Hispanic heritage but always have been citizens.
Worthen said volunteers are getting involved with the caucus who were active politically in their home countries, new citizens who came from Central and South America. “They give us new ideas for some different types of strategies,” she said. The group met before setting out and set a goal for registering voters as part of the party’s plan to register all eligible Hispanic residents by April. Each of the 11 people at the meeting promised to register four voters each by their next meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. March 29.
To contact this reporter: awallworth@arkansasonline. com
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