Latino Electorate across Generations: Political Characteristics in Terms of Education, Socio-economic Status, and Establishment
Political research on the Latino electorate has mostly focused on naturalized Latino immigrants and second generation Latino voters. As a result of the rapid growth of the Latin American-origin community in the United States, new generations of Latinos are becoming politically mature, thus eligible to vote. This political evolution forces researchers to understand whether a political difference exists within the Latino electorate based on generational standing. This study identifies the political characteristics of the Latino electorate across generations using education, socio-economic status, and establishment in terms of general mobility and language dominancy as the main variables of study. These variables function as major predictors of political behavior and participation at the polls. The study presents a theoretical and data approach to the problem, where data concerning the Latino electorate was analyzed based on existent theories. The conclusion establishes that a political shift exists across the different generations of the Latino electorate. Moreover, the Latino electorate is a politically heterogeneous group, where members of each of the generations behave differently politically, due to their generational standing. The study of the Latino electorate across generations is relatively new, for the group has recently reached an extended generational diversity.