New York Latino Research and Resources Network NYLARNET-Sponsored Project

· From 1990 to 1995, the population of New York State increased by 0.86 percent. Between 1990 and 1996 the Latino population grew in numbers by 15 percent.

· In 2000, Latinos were 15 percent of the state’s population, 18 percent of the New York Metro Area, and 27 percent of the population of New York City.

· Latinos in the state number 2,846,469. Of these 2,160,554 or 75.9 percent reside in New York City. In the Assembly Districts where Latinos are 40 percent of the population or more, they number 1,222,860 or 42.9 percent of the Latino state population and 56.5 percent of the city total.

· In 2005, the 26 Latino elected officials in New York represented parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. For all practical purposes, Latino politics in the state is New York City politics writ large.

· At all levels of office, Latinos are underrepresented. In Congress they are 7 percent of the state’s delegation. In Albany they are 7 percent of all legislators. At the state assembly, which has the largest Latino contingent of representatives in the state, they are only 12 percent of the total. In New York City, Latinos are 18 percent of the city council.

· In the counties where Latinos concentrate, the Kerry-Edwards victory was decisive. In Bronx county their margin of victory was 227,293 votes; Kings county gave the Democrats a margin of 347,824 votes. Similarly, in New York and Queens counties the Democrats won handily by 419,360 and 267,881 votes respectively.

· A significant proportion of new voters in the state--close to 20 percent--chose not to be idenfitied with either major party in 2004.

· Also, in 2004, the majority of the fastest growing counties in the nation were exurban communities. To win the presidency, the Democratic Party does not need to win in these areas. Yet, the party may well consider it necessary to target this growing constituency if only to reduce Republican margins in competitive states.

· For Latinos in New York this may translate into further diminished attention to their issues and needs as the Democratic Party reasons that their vote is not decisive and can be taken for granted.

· In 2004, the registration rate in areas where Latinos were 50 percent of the population or more was 48.1 percent at the Congressional District level, 52.2 percent at the Senate District level, and 49.6 percent at the Assembly District level for an overall average of 49.9 percent. These percentages, however, are based on total population figures and include both active and inactive registrants. The highest registration rate was 61.7 percent in Assembly District 71 in Manhattan and the lowest was 30.3 percent in Assembly District 39 in Queens. Interestingly, while district 39 was represented by a Latino, José R. Peralta, District 71 was not. In 2004 District 71 was represented by black Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, Jr. In 2004, Latinos were 64.5 percent of the population in District 39 but only 50 percent of the total in District 71.

· With the exception of State Senator Olga Méndez, Latino incumbents were re-elected by comfortable margins. Congressman José Serrano took 75.3 percent of the ballots cast in the 16^th Congressional District; Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez received 65.9 percent of the total cast in district 12^th; and Rubén Díaz and Efraín González captured 68.5 and 67.1 percent of the votes cast in Senate Districts 32 and 33 respectively.

· Even though Olga Méndez lost by a whopping 51.7 percent margin, her seat was captured by a Latino challenger, José M. Serrano, who ran against the formerly Democratic senator on the Democratic and Working Families party lines.

· On average, the Kerry-Edwards ticket received 84.2 percent of the votes cast in Assembly Districts with Latino concentrations of 50 percent or more whereas the Bush-Cheney ticket received only 13.6 percent. In some districts, support for the Democratic candidates was upwards of 85 percent with a high of 89.8 percent in AD 79 in the Bronx. In District 79, Latinos are 54 percent of the population but the Assemblyman for the district is not Latino.

· Given that the Kerry-Edwards ticket won in the state by a margin of more than one million votes, it is clear that the Latino vote statewide is not decisive for Democratic victories at that level. In New York City, where their numbers are almost double the 2004 margin of victory of the Kerry-Edwards ticket, Latinos could be a decisive force. But this was not the case because of the depressing effect on registration and turnout of citizenship and the lack of party competition in the city.