This week’s must-read piece for any Iowa politics watcher is by Matt Vasilogambros for the National Journal: “Why Latinos Don’t Caucus in Iowa.” The short answer: “no one asked them.” You should click through to read the fuller explanation. I’ve posted a few excerpts after the jump.

I also enclose below comments from Christian Ucles on Vasilogambros’s article. A native of Honduras who grew up in Iowa, Ucles has worked on campaigns in Texas and Minnesota as well as in our state. He is currently the political director for the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa.  

Vasilogambros notes the significant potential impact of Latino caucus-goers: 50,000 registered Latino voters in Iowa as of 2014, “with 20,000 more who could have been registered, according to a League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa analysis.” Turnout for the 2004 Iowa Democratic caucuses was about 125,000, according to the Iowa Democratic Party; the 2008 Democratic caucuses drew record turnout of around 239,000. Fewer than 120,000 Iowans showed up for Republican caucuses in 2008 and about 110,000 did so in 2012.

The key takeaway from Vasilogambros’s article: “There’s a well-known rule among Iowa caucus-goers: You have to personally ask for their support. Latinos don’t have a history of caucusing, and the reason is the same: because no one asked them.” Activists are working to fix that problem, though.

By encouraging more Latinos to run for office, which would bring more Latinos out to vote for local races, [Des Moines School Board member Rob] Barron thinks that over time more Latinos may begin to caucus.

“What’s the best entry point to getting them to vote?” Barron says. “Well, ‘I know that person. I like that person. I recognize something of me in that person.’ ”

Consider Barron’s election in 2013, which he won by just 28 votes. If you can get someone who has never voted before to vote for a school board member on the second Tuesday of September in an odd year, there’s a decent chance you can get them to vote two months later in a city race or a year later in a big federal or state race. Now, you have taken away those barriers and shown them how to vote again. They know where their polling place is and the ballot process no longer intimidates them.

Vasilogambros spent some time in Perry (Dallas County) reporting his piece. Perry has had a substantial Latino population since the 1980s.

“We don’t have a lot of incentive to caucus,” says Rosa Gonzalez, a Perry resident of Mexican descent. “For many of us, it doesn’t make sense. It’s hard to trust the government.” […]

Gonzalez is the president of Hispanics United for Perry, a group that fundraises for college scholarships for Latinos, and also promotes events in Perry that are cross-cultural. The group’s Latino Fest gets 2,000 attendees annually. […]

Until campaigns make sincere efforts, they will have a problem with engaging Latino voters, says Perry resident Eloisa Baumgartner. An on-and-off Republican caucus-goer, the Tyson Foods employee whose parents emigrated from Mexico doesn’t know whether she’ll caucus this time around, or if there’s enough motivation for other Latinos either.

“Candidates have to go and talk to people who really don’t have a voice and explain to them what they’re voting on,” says Baumgartner. “If you do that, they’re going to go back and tell all their friends and family.”

Having spent many hours trying to turn out Iowa Democrats for my own precinct caucus, I would add that even if candidates, staff, or volunteers do ask for someone’s support, and even if that person is engaged on the issues and willing to caucus, it won’t matter if shift work or family obligations make it difficult or impossible to attend. Having to be physically present at the precinct caucus site at a specific time on a cold winter night, and having to stay there for at least an hour, will continue to present a significant barrier to broad participation in the Iowa caucuses.

Asked about the National Journal piece, Christian Ucles sent Bleeding Heartland these comments via e-mail:

Matt Vasilogambros’s article on “Why Latinos Don’t Caucus” focused mainly on some of the personal reasons why Latinos in Iowa don’t vote. There were comments ranging from the lack of elected Latino leaders that would naturally fill the leadership void, there’s the distrust of the government and ultimately the real reason why Latinos don’t caucus: Campaigns don’t talk to us.

The ultimate reason why Latinos don’t vote in the caucus, is because campaigns don’t 1. have the money to put effort into reaching out to the Latino community. 2. They don’t want to due to political reasoning and 3. There isn’t infrastructure in place to reach out to those voters.

We live in a state that doesn’t track ethnicity or race for voting statistics. So for many campaigns, they don’t see the importance or the need to reach out to a group of people whom can’t be tracked using voter lists.

It’s on the Latino community to show that they indeed are a force to be reckoned with, and with the rise of the Dreamers looking to keep candidates accountable for their stance on DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals], we are seeing some interest in our community. However, it is a two-way street.

There are enough Latinos in the state that can affect the outcomes of some Senate and House Districts. However, neither the Democratic Party nor the Republicans have had the ability to spend enough money to reach out to our groups and build a lasting relationship. The Democratic Party in the past has spent money on hiring bi-lingual organizers and working on GOTV canvass programs. However, doing this work 3-4 months before an election isn’t conducive to creating a lasting relationship.

What it will take, will be a candidate, a political party and the community to create a lasting legacy of “Advanced Citizenship”. In Iowa, it isn’t just about going to the polls, it’s about creating the next class of activists, elected officials and political hobbyists.

With a renewed sense of importance, I hope that everyone is put on notice, where you can’t expect to knock on our door three months before an election and expect us to vote for you, just because we fit your ‘voting bloc.’ It’s also about coming to our community to hear our stories, know our issues and address to problems. As for Latinos, it is time that we join with our organizations to start learning how to petition our government.

background

Christian is  Political Operative having worked for the Texas Democratic Party, the Minnesota DFL (Democratic Party) a marriage equality ballot initiative and environmental grassroots firm. He is currently the Political Director for LULAC-Iowa.