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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A national Hispanic policy group hailed progress in Nevada on Thursday as it announced it has registered 10,000 new voters in the state this year under the Latino Voter Registration Project.
The Washington D.C.-based Hispanic Institute is now focused on increasing voter turnout, said chairman Gus West. The group plans to organize phone banks to remind voters of the Nov. 2 election and drive voters to polling places.
Many of the voters registered as Democrats. The project targeted Hispanic teenagers, as well as older, new citizens.
"With the growth of Hispanics in Nevada, we believe that they will be the deciding vote on this election," said West, a former Nevadan.
The group hopes to copy its Nevada project in other Hispanic-heavy states during the 2012 presidential election.
Volunteers in Nevada said they knocked on 134,634 doors and flooded supermarkets in neighborhoods where Hispanics tend to live.
They are planning a rally for Hispanic voters at the East Las Vegas Senior Community Center on Oct. 23rd.
Candidates in Nevada's high-profile gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races have also been courting Hispanics, who make up 26 percent of the state's population.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his son, gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid, have both run Spanish-language ads.
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Brian Sandoval has also released Spanish-media ads while trying to capitalize on his Hispanic heritage.
In contrast, Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle has blasted the elder Reid as an ally to illegal immigrants. Some Hispanic leaders have said her message is too critical of immigrants.
Nevada does not keep statistics on voters' ethnicity or race.
Voter records show Democrats have slightly grown their ranks by nearly 4,000 voters since August 2009. Republicans, meanwhile, have gained nearly 11,000 voters during that period.
Roughly one-fifth of votes cast for Obama in Nevada came from adults who identified as Hispanic, according to an Associated Press exit poll. Nearly nine-tenths of Nevadans who voted for Republican John McCain were white.
The Washington D.C.-based Hispanic Institute is now focused on increasing voter turnout, said chairman Gus West. The group plans to organize phone banks to remind voters of the Nov. 2 election and drive voters to polling places.
Many of the voters registered as Democrats. The project targeted Hispanic teenagers, as well as older, new citizens.
"With the growth of Hispanics in Nevada, we believe that they will be the deciding vote on this election," said West, a former Nevadan.
The group hopes to copy its Nevada project in other Hispanic-heavy states during the 2012 presidential election.
Volunteers in Nevada said they knocked on 134,634 doors and flooded supermarkets in neighborhoods where Hispanics tend to live.
They are planning a rally for Hispanic voters at the East Las Vegas Senior Community Center on Oct. 23rd.
Candidates in Nevada's high-profile gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races have also been courting Hispanics, who make up 26 percent of the state's population.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his son, gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid, have both run Spanish-language ads.
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Brian Sandoval has also released Spanish-media ads while trying to capitalize on his Hispanic heritage.
In contrast, Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle has blasted the elder Reid as an ally to illegal immigrants. Some Hispanic leaders have said her message is too critical of immigrants.
Nevada does not keep statistics on voters' ethnicity or race.
Voter records show Democrats have slightly grown their ranks by nearly 4,000 voters since August 2009. Republicans, meanwhile, have gained nearly 11,000 voters during that period.
Roughly one-fifth of votes cast for Obama in Nevada came from adults who identified as Hispanic, according to an Associated Press exit poll. Nearly nine-tenths of Nevadans who voted for Republican John McCain were white.
