D GOV. BILL RICHARDSON
OF NEW MEXICO
■ IMMIGRATION: Supports creating a path to
legalization for immigrants who are paying taxes,
learning English and contributing to U.S. society.
( ontheissues.org/Bill_Richardson.htm)
■ AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Supports minority
preferences for government contracts; has
stated that the federal government should
provide affirmative-action programs as long
as such programs do not include quotas.
( ontheissues.org/Bill_Richardson.htm)
■ GLBT ISSUES: Says gay-marriage should be
decided by the states. Favors repeal of “don’t
ask, don’t tell.” (richardsonfor
president.com)
■ EDUCATION: Wants to improve No Child Left
Behind but has said constant criticism of it is
ineffective. ( ontheissues.org/Bill_Richardson.htm)
■ PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Strongly supports embryonic stem-cell research. Has
received good grades from disability-rights
organizations. ( lifenews.com/bio1832.html)
■ HEALTHCARE: Supports universal healthcare
for all Americans, medical savings accounts,
funding to increase childhood immunization
rates and lowering prescription-drug rates for
senior citizens. ( ontheissues.org/Bill_Richardson.htm)
R MITT ROMNEY, FORMER GOVERNOR
OF MASSACHUSETTS
■ IMMIGRATION: Says undocumented immigration needs to end, favors implementing a
mandatory, tamper-proof documentation and
employment-verification system, and increase
legal immigration into America.
( mittromney.com)
■ AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Believes people
should be judged on merit. He is opposed to
quotas but believes diversity is important in the
workplace and higher-education institutions
(press statement via e-mail).
■ GLBT ISSUES: Was governor when the state
became the first in the nation to allow same-sex
marriage. Although he upheld the new law, he
didn’t agree with it and has said he sees marriage as between a man and a woman only.
( ontheissues.org) Supports “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
( washingtonpost.com)
■ PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Vetoed a stem-cell-research bill in Massachusetts.
( ontheissues.org)
■ EDUCATION: Says “unequal educational
opportunity” is the biggest civil-rights issue of
our time (Tulsa World, March 7, 2006) ( mittromney.com)
■ HEALTHCARE: Contends nation’s health can
be improved by extending health insurance to all
Americans, not through a government program
but through market reforms ( mittromney.com)
“What is common among all of us,
whether black or brown or yellow or white,
is [the desire to find] someone who’s going to
fight for that basic bargain,” says Solis Doyle.
“Hillary’s been an advocate for that for 30
years and so that’s why I’m in it. And that’s
why the people here are in it. She is someone
who seeks different opinions—the decision is
finally hers, but she likes to weigh different
ones [before she gets there].”
Voter turnout is directly correlated with
age, income and education, and blacks and
Latinos have a lower median age, income and
educational attainment compared with whites.
Asians tend to have higher educational attainment than whites but report more language
barriers to voting, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau.
“One of the big issues is how influential
you think your vote will be,” says Ingrid
Reed, policy analyst and New Jersey project
director for Rutgers University’s Eagleton
Institute of Politics. “I think you would
probably find that there’s still a sense in a lot
of the black community that they’re not in
charge and they never will be in charge, so
‘What difference does it make if I vote?’”
“Couple that with the mobility issue and
other factors—people aren’t even registered,
or they’ll move and not re-register at all,”
adds Reed.
Voter registration is the single most critical indicator of voter turnout because it
shows some degree of engagement in the
political process. Concerns about where or
how to register keep many from voting.
Turnout in presidential elections exceeds 80
percent for all registered voters, which may
be why several candidates, including Obama
and McCain, link to voter-registration sites
from their campaign web sites. Fifty-five percent of Latinos consume online political
news, compared with 52 percent of whites
